The (Un)Forgettable Team TAPE
by CushionySiren3
Summary: Four losers on a team that doesn't even sound like a color are going to take Beacon by storm and save the world... probably.
1. Have fun at school

It was a warm, clear mid-August morning in the city of Vale. The sun, in the sky where it typically was, glazed the city with its warm yellow rays of light. A few cute little birds were even chirping happily on a terrace overlooking the street when a young man, wearing a tactical vest over a long sleeved sweater, sprinted down the sidewalk past them.

The young man was carrying a couple of large suitcases under his arms, and a sleeping bag was tied to his bulbous backpack. The weight of his luggage starting to get to him the young man began to turn a sickly pale; his thick black and yellow scarf whimsically flowing behind him all the while. When the young man reached the end of the block he leaned against the corner of a building and took some short, deep breaths.

He set down one of the suitcases and rubbed his sleeve against his sweaty face before running a hand through his dirty blonde hair. Pushing aside some hair that drooped a tad too low over his forehead, his fingers brushed against a pair of goggles resting on the edge of his hairline. Licking his lips, he readjusted the goggles and breathed a satisfied sigh.

His appearance back in order he glanced up and down the road. And when he found that nothing looked remotely familiar – probably due to the fact that he hadn't actually been to this part of town before – he gave a small nod.

"Well, I'm lost… And I don't have a map… or an address… or any idea where I'm going… I screwed up." He said weakly. Slightly more despondent than before, he glanced around again for some kind of sign that might help him on his way. But, instead of a sign, he spotted something even better: an older silver haired man.

_'He probably knows his way around here.'_ The young man thought hopefully.

"Umm, excuse me, sir?" the young man said nervously.

"Hmm, yes?" The older man turned slowly, revealing that he sported a silver mustache and tired eyes.

"Uh, would you happen to know the way to the Vale Air Station?" The young man asked eagerly.

The old man ran his fingers over his mustache a couple of times before snapping and pointing to the street on his left. "So you gotta go down that'a way about three blocks, before makin' a right, then another left, and then you keep goin' til ya' see it. It's 'mpossible to miss it."

The young man mumbled the directions to himself a couple of times while he scooped up his other suitcase. "Alright, thank you sir! Have a nice day!" He shouted happily as he sprinted across the road and down the street.

The old man simply smiled at the peculiar boy and went on his way with a little chuckle.

* * *

The young man fought hard to catch his breath as he shuffled up to the Vale Air Station. At this point he was coated in sweat and, despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop panting.

Running aimlessly down city streets wasn't exactly something he had trained for, and running down said streets with nearly thirty pounds of gear in tow didn't exactly make things easier. Regardless of his exhaustion, he had places to be and he was not willing to let his substandard endurance get the best of him today. So, gasps rolling from his mouth, he wiped the sweat from his brow, pretended like he worked on cardio regularly, and he mustered his way into the station entrance.

Magnificent in their stature the airships floated just above a vast, stylish terminal. The terminal was somewhat barren however. The place had clearly been built with a bustling crowd of thousands in mind, but today there were roughly two-hundred people there. And as soon as that crowd came into the sights of the sweaty scarfed young man he began to instinctively shuffle towards them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up there pal." A security guard placed a hand on the center of the young man's chest. "Only students of Beacon Academy are allowed in there. I'm gonna need some identification."

"Oh, sorry," The young man slurred as he set down one of his bags and pulled his Scroll off of his belt. He handed it to the guard and watched him thumb through the screen patiently.

The guard only gave the young man a couple of glances, "Automne… Interesting name, you from around here?"

"Uh, no I've actually just moved here recently." Automne replied quickly.

The guard gave him one more inquisitive glance before closing his Scroll. "Everything looks good, go check in your bags over there at that desk and have a nice day. And kid, trust me, you're gonna like it around here." He said with a smile as Automne took back his Scroll.

"Oh, thank you," Automne said graciously before he marched over to the baggage registration desk. Once there he nervously handed over his bags and watched as the lady behind the desk slapped some barcode stickers onto them before hurling them straight onto a conveyor belt. With a meek half smile Automne watched as the conveyor belt whisked away his possibly damaged bags into the cargo hold.

As much as he wished the lady was a tad gentler with his bags he was just relieved to be at the station. From there he quickly moved into one of the large groups accumulated around the entrance to the airship. Lucky for him, he was so late that he only had to spend a few minutes amongst the throngs of loud, excited, rainbow colored teenagers before they were all ushered onto the ship by flight attendants.

Once inside Automne let his eyes wander amongst the interior. To his surprise the inside of the ship was rather spacious, and it was well illuminated by large windows running all along the sides of the ship. There were even a few holographic monitors stationed throughout the cabin. Down side was they were all broadcasting the local news, which Automne wasn't exactly fond of due to the fact that he found the news to be as entertaining as a locally-sponsored snail race.

'_I wonder if there's anything interesting around here?'_ Automne thought to himself as he began to walk around the sleek gray ship. But to his astonishment, after an absolutely exhilarating stroll through the entire cabin Automne realized he was going to be subjected to a painfully boring flight. He also found out that all the chairs were uncomfortable. _'Well, there's nothing to do, I don't have my bags, and I know none of the people here… what now?'_

The young man took a breath as he plunged into his hypothetical think-box. But when the cool tasteless air hit the back of his mouth his throat tensed and forced him to let out a loud yawn. In a short time his muscles slackened and when he returned to normal an idea came to his mind. _'How 'bout a nap…'_

Automne fell backwards onto the hard metal floor with a thud. Considering the chairs were as hard as a thirty year old carpet Automne decided it would probably just be easiest to fall asleep on the floor and get some much needed rest. Sure the floor was cold and dirty and yes, he knew that people were staring at him, but it was nice… sort of.

He let out one large sigh and tried to let the world around him slip away. Slip away into a peaceful and quiet drift through the sky.

"Oh my gosh!" The sound of footsteps pounding against the floor could be heard growing louder until it came to a stop right next to him. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" The hyper rambling clearly coming from a distressed girl who must have seen him fall on the floor.

Automne figured that she was simply going to ask him to get off the floor, but then she suddenly knelt down and quickly pressed her ear against his chest. Automne's eyes shot open in confusion, _'Umm what-'_

The girl let out a shocked gasp and quickly pressed both her hands to Automne's chest. Muttering something to herself she began to push down on Automne's ribcage.

'_What is happening?'_ Automne thought as the girl continued to push down on his chest. Strangely enough Automne was beginning to enjoy the rhythmic chest pumping, but then she changed things up. A bit too suddenly the girl grabbed Automne under the chin while a hand was placed behind his head for support. Tentatively, she began to tilt her head in towards his. _'Okay, say something!'_

"What are you-"

The girl let out a small shriek and jumped backwards. "Y-y-y-you're a-a-all r-right?" The girl stammered in confusion.

"Yeah, I was just laying down for a quick nap." Automne explained, his confusion utterly palpable as he sat up.

The girl began to quiver and point between their mouths with a single shaking finger. "I-I-I-I almost gave you C-P-P-PR. I would've k-k-k-k-kissed you." The girl wrapped her arms around herself and began to shake uncontrollably.

"Umm, are you alright?" Automne asked with concern as he watched the girl tremble on the ground.

The girl had a head of long, midnight black hair. She had straight bangs that only reached her eyebrows, but the rest of her silk like hair cascaded down her head in long straight strands which lightly brushed against the floor as she trembled violently. She wore a pair of semi-rimless gray glasses over her soft, almond shaped periwinkle eyes, which complimented her sweet, heart shaped face nicely.

Automne stammered for a minute as he tried to compose himself in front of the distraught girl. He quickly pulled himself onto his feet, "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry about that. Here let me help you up?" He bumbled nervously as he extended a hand to the girl.

The girl flinched slightly and ran her eyes over Automne, and then his hand, and then Automne again before hesitantly placing her small gloved hand in his own and allowing him to help her to her feet. Once the girl was on her feet she brushed her hands over the seat of her white pants a couple of times.

Automne scanned over her curiously, sparing a small glance to the red cross on her shoulder before he followed her thick curtain of black hair halfway down her back. He paid a fleeting glance to the silvery gray emblem emblazoned on the coattail of her jacket before quickly averting his attention from the region near her rear.

'_How do people even manage hair like that?'_ Automne thought to himself as he began to examine the girl's tidy white and gray clothes. Each piece of her clothing bearing a hygienic and unusually sterile air to them which only made Automne even more curious.

The girl loudly cleared her throat, her cheeks a warm shade of pink. "Would you kindly stop gawking at me?" The girl asked politely as she glared at Automne with what felt like anger, but looked like a forced nervous front.

"I-I'm not gawking, I'm uhh…" Automne quietly trailed off as he struggled to find the appropriate words.

The girl nodded her head as if she had won some kind of battle, "A-all right, now, I think I deserve an apology for you trying to kiss me." The girl said shyly as she tried to avoid eye contact.

"What? I didn't try and kiss you; you were trying to give me CPR!"

The girl flinched, "I thought you had passed out. I couldn't hear you breathing."

Automne knocked his hand against his chest, "I'm wearing a tactical vest. There's no way you could hear me breathing through my armor." Automne said, cocking an eyebrow.

The girl looked back and forth while trying to maintain her obviously withering air of a dominant presence. "Well… you shouldn't lie on the floor." The girl said softly, "It's concerning." The girl folded her arms and turned away slightly.

Automne gave a small sigh. "I'm sorry I was lying on the floor; I didn't mean to worry anybody."

The girl glanced in Automne's direction and gave him a small sincere smile before turning back to him. "Apology accepted," Her tone absolutely sincere. "My name is Eve Howlite." She said, offering her jittery hand for a handshake.

Automne gave a small smirk and shook Eve's hand, "I'm Automne Ombre Noire."

"So, may I ask why were you trying to sleep on the ground?" Eve asked with a raised eyebrow.

Automne ran his fingers through his hair and gave a bit of a chuckle, "It's a long story."

"I don't mind." Eve responded with a polite smile.

* * *

**Oh yeah Disclaimer: RWBY is owned and licensed by Rooster Teeth Production Studios. Please support the official release.**

**Hey everybody, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I've had this idea for a while and I'm finally happy to present it. Please leave a review and follow, favorite, or recommend the story if you want. There's more to come. **

**Until next time, Peace out.**

**-CS**


	2. Make new friends

"And then I slipped on a slice of pizza and fell down the stairs." Automne told Eve with a grimace as he rubbed his back.

"Why was there pizza on your staircase?" Eve asked in a small quiet voice, which Automne was just about sure was her normal speaking voice.

"Why wouldn't you leave pizza near the staircase? It saves you a trip from going down to the kitchen." Automne stated as if he were the mastermind behind some kind of genius breakthrough.

"Wouldn't it spoil?"

"Not if you put plastic wrap over it. Besides pizza's a vegetable; vegetables never spoil. Now where was I…?" Automne trailed off as he leaned against a beam between a set of windows.

"You had just slipped on some pizza."

"Right, thank you, so after I slipped on the pizza I found a note from my dad telling me that he had gone to work early. So then I gathered up all my clothes, supplies, and other junk and sprinted downtown to get to the air station, which was extremely exhausting, and that's why I was napping on the floor."

Eve blinked a few times, "Well that sounds… unfortunate." Eve paused for a moment before she snapped her fingers in delight "Maybe you should put batteries in your alarm clock next time." She added cheerfully, holding a finger up like she had answered some kind of difficult query.

"I'll keep that in mind." He replied with a hint of sarcasm. "So, I've told you a bit about me let's hear a little about you. Are you training as a field medic?"

Eve nodded her head, a bit of surprise visible in her bespectacled eyes. "How did you know?"

"The red cross on your shoulder."

Eve turned to look at her own shoulder and giggled a bit, "Oh yeah, almost forgot about that; yeah I am." She said with a cheerful nod. "My dad's a doctor and my mom's an officer in the military, so I figured why not save people and fight monsters, have the best of both worlds? And if you think about it even heroes need medical attention."

Automne gave a small smirk as he walked over to the window, the water below them rippling with a sense of muted majesty as the sun scurried across its surface. "How noble of you; I'm sure you'll be saving lives in no time. Speaking of which, I think we're almost there." _'That or those cliffs are getting bigger.'_

"Really," Eve burst out in excitement as she bumped Automne to the side to get a better view out the window. "Sorry, it's just... I've been dreaming about this for years." Her eyes still glued to the fast approaching landing pad.

Automne's smirk slowly faded as he stared out at the colossal towers standing as a symbol of hope and security for all. "I know the feeling… Well let's get goi- Eve?" Automne muttered in confusion as he looked around for the quirky girl who was nowhere to be seen. "Oh," he said quietly as he lowered his head.

'_No no it's alright go ahead and leave, just thought we were friends.'_ Automne thought to himself as he shuffled towards the exit to the ship. _'Well we did just meet, but we talked for a bit and that's what makes people friends… right? Or would that make us acquaintances.'_ Automne gave a small sigh as he walked off the ship. His skin was graced with warm rays of sunlight while the air was filled with the grotesque noise of some guy vomiting into a trash can_. 'I know we only talked for a little bit, but she didn't even say goodbye. It's a bit rude to just leave so abruptly, but I kind of get why she wouldn't want to hang around with me, I probably smell like sweat and-'_

"Hey, wait up!" A familiar voice shouted from behind.

"Huh" Automne turned back towards the ship the see none other than Eve with a narrow, medium sized white box hanging by off her shoulder with an old camera in her hand.

"Sorry about that, I forgot that I set my stuff down earlier and I needed to go get my things."

"Oh, well I wasn't worried too much I was sure you had friends to meet up with or something." Automne said as casually as he could in an effort to hide his social ineptitude. He gave a small nod towards the school and once again they were headed off.

"I actually don't have any friends." Eve added with a soft smile and sad eyes. "Studying medicine and combat doesn't leave a lot of leeway for a social life." She gave a couple of chuckles as she adjusted the strap around her shoulder.

'_Ask, aaaaaask!' _

"Weeeell since I don't know anybody from around here and you seem pretty cool so… Do you wanna be friends?" Automne asked as he rubbed at his neck and stared down at his moccasins. He began darting his eyes back and forth between the ground and Eve with the hope of seeing some kind of reaction.

The seconds seemed to stretch on for minutes before her soft voice broke the silence in a polite and chipper tone. "Yes, I would like to be friends." She said with a warm smile.

A large grin grew across Automne's face as he restrained the urge to jump with joy. "Alright!" he shouted happily. "Now, let's seal the deal." He held his fist out in front of Eve, stopping both of them in their tracks.

Eve stared at his fist blankly for a couple of moments. "Umm, what does-"

"Haven't you ever heard of a fist bump before?" Automne raised an eyebrow, his fist awkwardly hanging in the air.

"Umm, kind of," she said nervously as she began to curl her fingers into a fist and slowly, ever so slowly, extend it towards Automne's fist.

Automne let out a bored sigh as she slowly directed her gloved fist towards his with the steady precision of a surgeon, trying to guide it in juuuust ri-

BOOM

Eve and Automne glanced around in a panic as a thunderous explosion filled the air.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know!"

The two of them looked around for the source of the noise, but Automne stopped abruptly and looked down at his fist.

"Hey Eve," Eve stopped and turned to Automne. "I think- I think that was a sign that this… is the start of a good friendship." Eve stared quizzically for a moment before a warm, jubilant smile swept away her worries. "So… what now?"

"Well, my dad wanted me to take a few pictures of the campus and send them to him."

"That sounds cool, but what's with that camera?"

"My dad and I prefer film over that digital stuff; it just feels more real."

"That's a nice way to think about it." Automne said with a whimsical sense of joy as they began to stroll off in the direction of some ponds that looked like they'd make for some nice scenic pictures.

"Hey, Automne, don't you think we should be worried about that-"

"No no it was a sign; don't worry 'bout it."

* * *

"… It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin concluded as Eve and Automne watched the headmaster eagerly from the crowd.

"Well," Eve started; discouragement heavy in her voice. "That was…"

"Uplifting," Automne interjected with a bit of sarcasm as he watched the headmaster walk away.

"There you go, that works."

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight," Professor Goodwitch added, "Tomorrow your initiation begins, be ready. You're dismissed."

'_Well that hollow, ominous, foreboding speech totally got me hyped to take on this school.'_

"So Eve, how are you- Eve?" once again there was no sign of Eve to be seen anywhere. _'Dust, she's like a ghost or something, or a really sneaky cat. Well, I might as well go and find my luggage.'_

Automne figured as he began to mindlessly follow the bustling crowd of first years into the next room. _'Maybe if I slip a bell into her pocket it'll be easier to notice when she walks away. Or maybe I should just listen to quieter music, gotta protect my hearing. I wonder when-'_

"Dude!" an irate student clad in purple and green yelled, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"What?" Automne said blankly.

"You spilled my drink all over my Scroll, knocked my Scroll out of my hand, and stepped on it!"

Automne looked down at the ground to see a sopping wet Scroll with a large footprint on it. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry it was an accident, here let me-" Automne bent down and picked up the Scroll, "Umm, uh don't worry it'll be perfectly fine if you let it sit in some rice over night." Automne tried to reason as he flailed the young man's Scroll back and forth, droplets of soda flying everywhere, including the student's face.

"Where am I supposed to get rice?" Irritation growing in his voice.

"Rice rice rice, OH uh maybe the Cafeteria has some rice or uh maybe there's a store around here or something." Automne handed the Scroll back to the young man and shoved a hand into his pocket. "Uhhh- here! Here's some money to buy some rice, I'm very very sorry." Automne babbled as he shoved the money into the young man's hands.

The young man looked down at the money and let out a groan. "If I can't find any rice you're going to owe me a new Scroll." He stated sharply as he began to walk away.

"That's fair," Automne mumbled to himself. "That's completely and utterly fair." He said in defeat as the guy in purple and green walked away with the money he was hoping to use later.

"Hey Automne sorry, but I forgot to get a picture of the main tower from the front of the school." Eve said happily as she held up her camera. "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Automne said miserably as he slumped over a little bit.

"Oh, okay" Eve sniffed the air a couple of times, "Why do you smell like grape soda?"

Automne let out a tired sigh and fell on the floor.

* * *

'_Finally time for some sleep.'_ Automne thought to himself contently as he strolled down the hall towards the ballroom in his PJ's with his sleeping bag tucked under his arm and his goggles still perched on his head.

"Automne, wait up!" Eve quietly shouted _('Didn't even know that was possible.')_ as she jogged up behind Automne, holding her sleeping bag against her chest. "Sorry I took so long."

"No worries I didn't-" Automne stopped for a moment and looked Eve up and down. A large smirk started to grow across his face as he studied Eve's sleepwear.

"What is it?" Eve asked in concern as she squeezed her sleeping bag a little.

"Oh it's nothing; I just enjoy your grandma's taste in fashion." Automne snickered as he took in the spectacle of Eve's long sleeve, ankle length, thick, plain white nightgown.

Eve blushed a little and lowered her chin onto her sleeping bag. "Don't be mean." She said weakly, like Automne had just poured a bucket of cold water onto a bunch of sad puppies.

'_Way to be a douche.'_ Automne gave a sigh, "Look, Eve I'm sorry, I was just joking. Here go ahead say anything you want about me. I deserve it." He said as he gestured up and down his body.

Eve looked Automne up and down for a few moments. "Your shirt is kind of faded." Eve said with what Automne assumed was a venomous tone.

"That was… an insult?" Automne asked with a raised eyebrow and a confused grimace.

Eve gave a small shrug, "I like your pajamas." Eve admitted sadly, "Your shirt's pretty cool."

Automne gave a heavy sigh, a broad frown replacing the smirk that had been there moments ago. "Well, now I feel like a huge jerk. You don't have a single mean-bone in your body do you?"

Eve shook her head, "Being negative doesn't solve anything. You got to look at everything positively if you want things to change." Eve finished with a small miserable smile.

Automne let out a long groan as he slapped a hand over his face. "Augh, now I feel like a monster."

Eve straightened up a bit and lowered her sleeping bag. "Are you sorry?"

"Mhmm,"

Eve paused for a moment while Automne slowly slid his hand down his face. "I accept your apology." Eve said with a small, sweet smile as she held her fist out.

Automne gave a small chuckle and lightly bumped his fist against hers. "How did you not already have any friends?" he asked half-seriously with a soft smile, "Wait a minute… Are you wearing gloves?"

Eve's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "Th-they're sleeping gloves." Eve didn't wait for Automne's response though and continued to walk off towards the ballroom.

A large grin spread across Automne's face, _'Oh my Dust she's so weird.'_ Automne thought happily as he tried to catch up to his best friend.

"So, I never asked how that shot of the tower came out."

"I don't know," Eve chimed happily, "that's the mysterious joy of film."

Automne looked at Eve blankly and blinked a few times. "…What?"

"Oh, I think we're here!" Eve shouted as she ran into the entrance to the ballroom, Automne following shortly after her.

Automne looked around the room to see that dozens of other students had already set up their sleeping spots and that there were only a few spots left. "Hey Eve I think there are a couple of spots over by that blonde guy let's- Eve?" Automne turned to see Eve gasping for air as she crushed her sleeping bag against herself.

Her eyes darted back and forth between groups of fellow students. Her face beginning to slowly turn red as she constricted her arms around her sleeping bag.

"Eve?! Eve what's wrong?!" Automne reached a hand out towards her shoulder, but she jumped back quickly.

Her lips started to quiver and her whole body began to tremble. "C-c-c-c-c-Co-ed," She said breathlessly as she dropped her sleeping bag to the ground.

Automne gave her a clueless stare, "…Wha-"But Eve had already bolted back down the hall before he could finish his question.

"Umm… I guess… I'll find us a spot." Automne said completely perplexed as to what just happened as he picked up Eve's sleeping bag.

'_Honestly, I don't think I could've made a weirder friend if I tried.' _

Automne shuffled over to the open spots and tossed the sleeping bags down next to each other. _'I wonder where Eve ran off to.'_ He thought as he unrolled and straightened Eve's sleeping bag. _'Something was definitely bugging her, but I couldn't tell what… Oh well she should be back soon, hopefully.'_ Automne gave a large sigh as he rolled over and laid back on his plush sleeping bag.

'_Well, I'm here,'_ pure satisfaction washed through Automne as he closed his eyes and rested his arms behind his head. He wiggled a little bit to try and get as snuggly as possible. Tomorrow was the big day and he wanted to be well-rested, but something just didn't sit right with him as he stared up at the dim ceiling.

"Where is she?" he muttered to himself as he sat up to see Eve's sleeping bag was still vacant. Automne began to scan the room for any sign of Eve, _'I hope she's alright, she hasn't been gone for too long but- ohhh my Dust.'_ Fire coursed through Automne as he was gifted with a clear view of _her_.

No, not Eve, Automne still had not even the faintest idea of where she was, but his concerns for Eve began to dissipate as he watched a gorgeous angel of a young woman from across the ballroom. Automne couldn't help but be captivated by her well toned, muscular body which she barely concealed under a sherbet pink tank top that didn't reach her midriff and a pair of lavender colored sweats that had been cropped to about mid-thigh. A shiver went through Automne as he basked in the radiant glow of her supple blemish-free skin. From the tangerine highlights in her electric blue hair to her sculpted abs she had completely enraptured Automne with her presence.

Automne let out a long sigh, _'She's beautiful…' _He thought to himself completely love struck as he crossed his legs and stared at her from across the room. '_What if she sees you staring? She'll think you're some kind of creep. Look away… But I can't be denied the siren like call of her body. No, look away! ...Okay it's probably safe to look- She's looking over here!' _Automne let out a gasp and slammed his head down backwards into his pillow to pretend like he was sleeping. Unfortunately due to all his shimmying from earlier he must have pushed his pillow a little to his left, because instead of the soft embrace of a down pillow he hit his head against the stiff, cold stone floor.

"Hey Automne," Eve's unforgettable voice rang out as Automne rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey Eve," Automne grunted through grit teeth as he pried one eye open. "Where'd you-" Automne stopped for a moment to register what exactly he was looking at. "Eve, what are you wearing?" He asked in confusion as he tried to figure out why Eve looked so… thick.

"If I'm going to be sleeping in the same room with boys I need to be properly dressed." Eve stated in a very prudent manner as she waddled over to her sleeping bag and attempted to bend down low enough to sit down.

"Soooo you decided to put on a ski jacket under your nightgown?" he said skeptically as he kept a close eye on Eve's nightgown in fear that it would burst open at any moment.

Eve giggled a little, "I'm not wearing a ski jacket; I'm wearing 2 t-shirts, a sweater, a jacket, 3 pairs of pajama pants and oof 2 pairs of underwear." Eve said with a jolly little smile as she fell onto the ground. Automne simply stared at her with a straight face and a raised eyebrow. "What?" She said curiously as she looked down at her sleepwear, "Do you think it's enough?" Her concerned question was only met with a quiet stare that basically read as _'seriously?'_ Eve looked down at her clothes again, "No?"

Automne gave a tired sigh, "Goodnight, Eve." He said listlessly as he began to crawl into his sleeping bag.

"Umm, Automne would you mind zipping me up? I can't bend my arms."

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "Alright, roll over for a second." Automne pulled the sleeping bag out from under the pile of fabric that was Eve and began to unzip it. "Roll in,"

"Thanks for this." Eve chimed happily as he began to zip up the sleeping bag over her.

"Don't mention it. Do you want me to leave the top open so you can have some fresh air?"

"No, there's a hose in my hand, just put that in my mouth before you zip it closed."

Automne just shrugged, _'At this point nothing really surprises me.'_ "Alright," he added as he took the hose from her hand and placed it in the corner of her mouth. "You good?"

"Can you take my glasses off, please?"

Automne gave a small smirk, "Only since you asked nicely." He gingerly lifted the glasses off of her face and folded them.

Eve blinked a few times, "Thank you; just set them down next to me." Eve garbled happily as Automne set them down beside her head and placed the end of the hose outside of the sleeping bag.

"There, need anything else? Glass of water, a late night snack, a freshly made chocolate soufflé coated in rich caramel syrup and topped with the finest of strawberries from the west acres?"

"Uh uh,"

"Okay then, good night Eve." Automne finished politely as he zipped the sleeping bag closed.

"Good night, Automne." Her muffled voice called out from inside the sleeping bag.

Automne let out one final sigh and fell back on his sleeping bag. He lowered his goggles over his eyes and adjusted them to their darkest setting as he fluffed his pillow.

'_Welcome to Beacon.'_ He thought triumphantly as he began to slowly drift to sleep.

* * *

**Hey everyone thanks for reading. I'm eager to hear what you have to say, so leave a review and if you want go ahead and follow the story. I want to thank my editor NinjaSlayer4x who's been a big help and always manages to find the time to edit my stories. Go check out his fanfiction called "Crossing Swords" if you have the time. And if you're liking this story maybe check out my other story, "A Frozen Heart". Well that's all I have to say, until next time, Peace out.**

**-CS**


	3. Don't play with those

_'You got this,'_ Automne assured himself as he popped his knuckles. _'You totally got this, there is no doubt you got this.'_ He took a deep breath, stepped onto the steel launch pad, and slowly exhaled. _'You've been training for years; there is no way you're gonna fail.'_ His heart steadily pounded like a drum as he gazed out at the sea of trees that stretched on for miles below the cliffs. _'The weather's nice, not too windy, no fog, you'll be out of there in no time… unless… noooo you got this.' _Automne lowered his goggles over his eyes and pulled his scarf up over his mouth.

"…Each of you will be given teammates, today." Professor Goodwitch finished sharply; Automne was just going to pretend like he caught the rest of her monologue while he continued to mentally prepare himself.

'_Alright, well that's good, I guess. Makes sense, of course they'd want me to work with someone.'_

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well."

'_Oh, we're choosing. That's fine, totally fine, I guess I can pair up with Eve or-'_

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

'… _Wait… What? So am I actually choosing or does it all depend on who I run into first? Am I supposed to stare at the floor if I don't want to be partnered with them?'_ Automne continued to ponder this obscenely confusing contradiction as Ozpin went on with the briefing.

'_Alright, I guess it doesn't matter. I'll just meet someone; we'll grab the artifact and get out… Just don't get paired with someone who sucks… And I have to do this quickly for a good grade… And I can't die.'_

"Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked calmly, a blonde haired guy towards the end of the line raised his hand, and from where Automne was standing, it looked like he said something, but instead of actually answering his question Ozpin concluded with a loud, "Good,"

'_Not sure why he asked, but once again I guess that doesn't matter.' _

"Now, take your positions!"

Automne took a deep breath and drew two thick metal escrima sticks from holsters on his back. He rotated his wrists a little to re-accustom himself to their weight and slowly exhaled. _'I got this. I have my boys and I have the skills to get through this forest without a problem… well,' _Automne set his right foot forward and loosened his shoulders as the sounds of launch pads flinging students into the air began to grow closer.

'_I haven't actually tested this new landing strategy though.'_

The sound of curled springs releasing tension continued to grow closer.

'_And at this trajectory I probably won't have enough time to build up air resistance,'_

The roaring of the launching pads didn't yield as beads of sweat began to trickle down Automne's face.

'_This is going to fail! Maybe I can switch to my other one… The one that resulted in three broken bones…' _Automne's launching pad let out a loud click.

"I'm going to die." Automne quietly muttered in horror as the pad sent him soaring into the air.

The wind howled through his ears in one long continuous note as Automne tried to calm himself. He spread his arms and legs out as far as he could, the unyielding torrent of wind blasting against him ruthlessly, _'Alright, now all I need's a tree. Where's a tree, where's a tree, tree tree tree,' _He thought in a panic as his ascension came to a stop and he began to fall.

'_There!' _And there it was a few hundred yards away, a tall, thick, lumbering tree with wide, strong branches. Automne folded his arms against himself and dived in its direction.

The blistering wind whipped against his face like a ruthless assailant as he honed in on his target. The only thing he hated more than the draining dry air was the sound of the wind bellowing in his ears, almost completely drowning out all logical thought. It filled his head with fear and anxiety; that was its poison and Automne knew it could kill him.

'_Now!'_ electricity ran through Automne's body as he spread his arms and legs out wide once again and gave a light flick in both his wrists to bring out the secondary forms of his weapons; Twilight Harmony and Dawn Tranquility. The one in his right hand gave a loud metallic whir as the pistol grip for Twilight Harmony unfolded and the long, suppressed barrel turned into alignment. In his other hand Dawn Tranquility gave a loud pop, Automne quickly smashed his wrist down against Dawn Tranquility, binding its light metal sheath around his wrist like a band and leaving a thin, sharp ninjato blade behind.

Automne began to wildly fire his pistol down in the direction of the tree as he turned his blade downwards and curled his knees up close to his chest. He channeled his aura down into his blade and his feet as he hurtled towards the fast approaching tree.

'_Please don't kill me!'_ He hoped through gritted teeth seconds before colliding with the tree, sending splintered wood and debris into the air. His spine was rattling and the tree swayed back and forth treacherously as Automne breathed heavily in disbelief.

"I'm alive?! I'm alive!" He shouted in joy as he loosened his grip on his sword and looked for a near-by branch to swing to. "And no broken bones, that's a first." He mumbled with a small smile as he yanked Dawn Tranquility out of the tree and leapt onto a branch.

The branch suddenly gave a loud ominous crack and emitted a loud moan. "What the-" Automne looked over the branch and saw two large bullet holes. "Oh Dust nooooooooo," Automne trailed off as he plummeted down to the forest floor below, hitting every branch on the way down.

"Uhhhhh," Automne moaned as he rustled around in a bush as hundreds of healthy leaves slowly drifting down from broken branches and landed atop his body. "Well at least this bush saved me." Automne groaned into his scarf, cutting his cheek on the thorns of the bramble bush he had fallen in.

'_Well I feel, and probably look, like crap, my face is bleeding, I'm covered in bruises and cuts, I'm pretty sure I broke a rib and I definitely dislocated my shoulder; I'm off to a wonderful start.'_ Automne thought miserably as he pulled himself onto his feet and limped out of the bush.

"On the plus side I have a snack." He mumbled half heartedly as he reached into the bush and plucked a couple of berries.

"I'm a ninja. I'm a scarfie ninja. I'm a ninja. I'm a scarf guy ninja. Eating berries 'cause I am a ninja! Eating tons of berries, hwaaa!" Automne shouted like a spazz as he shuffled through the forest doing karate chops into the air with one hand while his other arm hung off of him like a dead palm frond.

Automne stopped abruptly and turned to a bush. The bush gave a small rustle and Automne drew Twilight Harmony and aimed it at the center of the bush. He steadied his breathing and locked his iron sights onto the thick leaves. He dared not blink in fear that he would lose his opportunity for a quick, clean fight. He was in no condition for an open fight and he knew he'd probably lose his arm if he wasn't quick enough.

The bush rustled furiously, "Come on," Automne growled from behind his scarf. The bush continued to sway while Automne's blood only boiled hotter, "Face me!" He taunted with furious anticipation as he moved his finger onto the trigger.

The beast swooped out from the bush like lightning and flew for Automne's face, cawing and flapping its wings madly as Automne shot a single round into the chest of a small Nevermore.

Automne stared down at the quickly decomposing monster, "Huh, well that was a bit anti- whoa!" Automne dove to the floor as a large object swooped through the air and cleaved through a nearby tree.

"What was that?" Automne whispered as he crawled into a nearby bush. He pushed some leaves out of the way and was presented his answer in the form of a fellow student swinging a large shuriken through the air as a few large Nevermore's swarmed him in a small clearing between the trees.

The young man grunted and swung his open shuriken furiously as the Nevermore's pecked at his arms and tried to claw at his face with their razor-sharp talons. The hunter made to run into the forest, but quickly pivoted and sliced clean through one of the Nevermores, the sun gleaming heroically off of his thick rectangular glasses.

'_I should probably help him.'_ Automne began to tighten his grip on his handgun, but before he could pounce out of the bushes like a crippled puma the hunter in training flung his shuriken through the air. Its four large blades ripped clean through a Nevermore and spun through the air like a windmill until it landed in the bushes next to Automne kicking up grass and dirt as it spun in the ground.

The student in the clearing gave a tugging gesture towards the shuriken and somehow pulled it from the ground and returned to swinging it through the air at the remaining Nevermore.

Automne gave a heavy sigh, _'You know what, I think he's got this.'_ He thought bitterly as he began to brush dirt off of his face and goggles.

And so he left him to it, he didn't leave him to deal with it on his own or anything selfish like that though. He just sat idly by in the bush and watched patiently as his fellow student swung his giant shuriken around with the hope of killing the pestilent Nevermore.

'_I'm almost tempted to just shoot that damn thing.'_ Automne thought to himself after another five minutes of watching the student throw his shuriken, miss the Nevermore, shout a little bit, and repeat the process. Surprisingly it didn't look like Automne was the only one who had had enough of this because the student suddenly lowered his shuriken and collapsed it into a thick single blade and started to walk away. _'Well it's great to know someone like him will be protecting all of us very soon. Thank you random person I can sleep peacefully at night now.'_

The Nevermore however didn't seem nearly as discouraged and dived at the seemingly unmotivated student only to be sliced down in one fell swoop; the student gave a small flourish with the curved blade and hooked it onto his belt by its large circular handle.

'_Huh well I guess that wraps that up.'_

"To whoever's in the bush, thanks for doing absolutely nothing!" The purple and green hunter shouted sarcastically as he glared in Automne's direction.

Automne slowly rose out of the bushes, and lowered his scarf "Heeeeeeey, so… how're you doing?"

The student furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, his vambraces clinking together lightly as a broad frown spread across his face. "Why didn't you help me?"

Automne exhaled heavily, "Well, it kind of looked like, to me at least, that you kind of had it covered. I mean you took out those other two easily, it should have been no problem to take out one more, right?" Automne finished with some forced laughter as he attempted to talk himself out of this mess.

Unfortunately smooth talking wasn't exactly his forte and the irritated student seemed to agree. His spectacled dark green eyes watched Automne with contempt as he stood there silently. His tidy black hair and a light purple sash hanging off the back of his leather belt swayed lightly as a breeze blew through the clearing. Automne couldn't tell what was more off-putting; the student's clear lack of humor, which could be seen by all the lines on his face, or the fact that he was dressed like he was from some sort of formal ninja army and he was very capable of breaking Automne like a pencil.

He was wearing a dark purple and black chest plate over his short-sleeved dark green collared shirt. His shirt was buttoned all the way up and it was tucked in neatly to his black pants that had a single purple stripe running down each leg.

Automne cleared his throat, "Sorry," He muttered shamefully as he was barraged with the student's soul-piercing stare. "So… I guess we're teammates now."

The irritated student gave a sigh, "Yeah, I guess we are." He said in an obviously less than thrilled tone.

"My name's Automne." Automne said shyly as he extended his hand.

"Ty," The other student responded dryly as he shook Automne's hand. "So, let's get going, we need to get to the relics and we've already lost a fair amount of time." Ty added flatly as he turned back towards the forest.

"Right ehm, before we go do you think you could help me relocate my shoulder?" Automne asked politely as he waved his limp arm in Ty's direction.

Ty let out a sigh, "Alright, let me see it." Ty grumbled as he walked back over to Automne and took a hold on his arm, pushed his elbow against his side, and started to turn his forearm outwards.

"Alright so how're we going to do this? Are you going to say when you're going to do it or should I count and the-" Automne let out a loud shriek as Ty shoved his shoulder upwards into its socket.

"There, you're good, now let's go." Ty asserted as he quickly walked into the forest.

'_This could be going better.'_ Automne thought to himself as he trudged along slowly behind Ty with tears in the corners of his eyes.

Automne gave a sigh, lifted his goggles to brush away the tears, and broke into a short jog to catch up with Ty, his new teammate.


	4. Be careful, they might bite

Automne glanced over to his new partner who was wearing a serious expression and positively exuding determination from his pores. Automne cleared his throat and looked for any kind of reaction on Ty's behalf, but he only received silence as they briskly walked through the dense forest. They would occasionally have to stop and clear away vines or some brush, but all the while the stifling silence remained between the two young men who were now forced to be partners for the next four years.

Automne glanced over at Ty one more time and took a deep breath, _'Looks like I'm going to be breaking the ice this time.'_

"So… are you still mad about the hiding in the bushes thing?" Automne's answer was met with dead silence, aside from the foliage rustling beneath them.

'_Probably should've started out with something a little less recent.'_

"So, did you manage to find any rice yesterday? ...For the Scroll? ...The one that I stepped on." Silence persisted while Automne cringed at his own question

'_Wow… Are there any more stupid things I should say? How about I just insult him because at this point I honestly don't know how I could possibly make things any worse.'_

"Actually yes I did,"

"Really?" Automne said slightly awe struck that Ty had actually managed to find rice in an academy made to train warriors.

"Yeah, the lunch ladies in the Cafeteria said stuff like that apparently happens a lot, so they keep a couple of extra bags of rice on the side." Ty said with what sounded like a somewhat upbeat tone.

'_Yes, thank you extremely considerate lunch ladies. You have saved my life once again.'_

"But that doesn't really matter because when you stepped on it you must've broken something internally, because now the screen doesn't work."

'_Damn it!'_

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that. I'll try to repay you as soon as possible." Automne said with a frown as guilt and worry ran through his mind due to the fact that he had completely botched up all chances for a good first impression.

"Don't worry about it too much. You'll have plenty of time to pay me back, and now I don't have to worry about hunting you down now." Ty responded with a sinister smile.

"What does that mean?" Automne asked slightly offended by what Ty was implying.

"No offense, I'm just saying I just thought you might try skipping out on me after that debacle."

Automne opened his mouth to return fire, but just decided to let out a heavy sigh instead. "Whatever, so you seem pretty… lethal. Where did you train?" Automne asked curiously as he eyeballed Ty's lean but muscular arms as he climbed over a fallen tree.

"I went to Signal."

"Just Signal?" Automne asked as he threw his legs over the tree. "No private ninja army or anything like that?"

"No, but I did work with my dad and the Vale police department for a while." Ty chimed with a sense of pride.

'_Well that explains a few things, I guess.' _

"I actually almost joined the police force, but I figured defending all of humanity and the Faunus was the better choice." He continued with a large proud grin.

'_Lot s of noble people around here.'_

"Huh, well that was a bold choice. It was probably the better choice anyways; I don't think the Vale PD would want you running around with that big old thing. Ya might accidentally be scraping cars and accidentally cutting up old ladies; people would be freaking out." Automne gave a chuckle as he imagined the streets in panic over something as simple as a giant shuriken.

" 'Ahhhh run away, it's the shurikeeen!' Then they all burst into flames" Ty and Automne shared a short laugh before Ty cleared his throat. "But actually the Vale Police Department was perfectly fine with me using my shuriken and they even promote the use of personally constructed weapons as long as they follow permitted statutes set by the current elected officials and the commissioner. The use of constructed weapons prevents officers from becoming extremely stressed on duty and has been shown to cause a decrease in crime rates in areas where patrol officers are using custom weapons. The only real issues have been a small group of citizens claiming that blah blah blah blah blah-"

A small trail of spittle began to crawl out of Automne's mouth after he got lost in the endless lecture that poured out of Ty and it only crawled further and further down his chin as Ty continued to go on and on and on and –

"So does your shuriken do anything cool." Automne rudely interrupted as he wiped the saliva off his chin with his scarf.

Ty gave a bitter scowl and drew his collapsed shuriken by its circular handle and raised it up inches in front of Automne's nose. Automne stopped in place and keenly studied the four blades collapsed next to each other to form a single wide sword. The interior of the blades were thin and razor sharp while the exterior was noticeably broader, but Automne had no doubt that it could hack through steel and bone without any issue. Automne continued to follow the mysterious allure of the curved blades to their tips and was once again surprised by another piece of this weapons arsenal, a small hollow port just behind the tip of each blade.

Before Automne even had a chance to ask Ty about the port Ty slid his thumb forward on the handle, causing the blades to spring open with the speed of a bullet and lock into place to form Ty's large, somewhat intimidating shuriken.

"The handle is equipped with small pressure plates which I use to manipulate the blades and the dust ports on the end of each blade." Ty explained flatly as he pushed his thumb sideways on the edge of the handle, releasing two parallel blades which began to slowly spin while the other two remained locked in place. "These two are on a separate axis and can rotate freely while the other two remain set; any more questions?" Ty pressed his thumb against the handle again and brought the spinning blades to a halt before giving the handle a squeeze to collapse the blades.

"What's its name?"

Ty paused for a moment as he hooked the shuriken onto his belt, "What?"

"Your weapon, what did you name it?" Automne asked with a growing expectation for something so stunningly awesome as he crossed his arms.

Ty stared down at his sword-shuriken thing and began to nod his head, "Chuck," he said happily before proceeding to walk northward.

Automne squinted a bit, _'Chuck?'_ hey quickly shrugged it off and rejoined Ty, "Oh, just one more thing," Automne inquired as he jumped over a rock. "How were you guiding it through the air back there in that fight?"

"Easy," Ty started as he rolled up his purple leather glove slightly and pulled his vambrace back to reveal what appeared to be a spool of metal thread. "I just loop a thread into the handle before the fight starts and I can control the Shuriken by hitting its pressure plates."

Automne stared down at the threads and blinked a few times. _'Not going to even try and make sense of that. You know what at this point I'm basically inclined to believe whatever anyone tells me.'_

"Cool, so how much further is it until we get to that temple?"

"I don't know it shouldn't be too much further now."

* * *

"See here we are," Ty said triumphantly as he pushed past a few bushes and walked into a large clearing, the stone temple standing like a golden trophy a few hundred yards away. "I told you it wasn't too far."

"Huh well that was unexpectedly fast." Automne mumbled as the two of them walked into the field which was, for some reason, covered in melting ice and large feathers that were skewered into the dirt. "Wonder what caused that."

"Yeah, something big must've happened here." Ty said in awe as he looked around.

"Haha good thing we didn't have to deal with it, right?"

Ty gave a chuckle "Oh definitely, up top!" and so they shared an extremely undeserved high-five and laughed all the way to the altar. But their moods took a drastic turn when they actually got to the temple and looked around.

"Oh come on!" Automne said in disappointment as him and Ty stared at the last remaining relic, a black pawn.

Ty gave a heavy sigh and picked it up, "Well it's pretty clear that we're doing the worst out of everyone. Don't blame yourself too much,"

"Hey I-"

"Wasted a good chunk of our time by hiding in the bushes and preventing us from actually making any progress,"

'_Oh yeah… Sort of forgot about that'_

"What we need to worry about now is getting back to Beacon as quickly as possible. That being said we can't go back the same route, it'll take too long, those thicker trees over there probably have more Grimm, but it should make for a straighter path back towards the cliffs." Ty advised without the slightest indication that there were any other options.

'_Hmm so we're going to trek through an even more dense part of the forest than what we were just in, which is more than likely filled with monsters which could very well impede our progress even more, and this plan is entirely dependent on the fact that that part of the forest makes for a straighter line to the cliffs which we really have no actual reference towards because we were flung through the air, and we have absolutely no experience with traversing this landscape. I see absolutely no issues with this plan.'_

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "This is bogus." He muttered weakly before he started to march off towards the tree line with one hand in his pocket and his other on his drawn blade.

"Hey you got us into this mess, and who still says bogus anymore?" Ty inquired with growing impatience as he stuffed the relic into his pocket and drew his swordiken.

"I still say bogus. Don't be bogus." Leaves and vines flew through the air as Automne sliced through the thick greenery.

"I don't think you even know how to use that word." With every step they took into the forest light slowly faded away as the canopy above them grew unruly and wild.

"Nuh uh, I know how to use it you're just too bogus to understand, you bogus person." The air around them began to grow cold while the smell of rotting flesh wafted past them gently.

"You know what, you're fired."

"What?"

"Yep, you're fired from doing stuff. Now step out of the way, I'll clear out the path for the rest of the way."

"First off how is that even a punishment? Second this plan sucks anyways. We're making almost no progress with all these damn plants in the way." Automne said bitterly as he kicked a fallen branch.

Ty pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head a few times while Automne continued to kick the branch. "Would you stop kicking that-" Ty stopped midsentence and looked straight up and began to look around the dense canopy as a large smile made its way onto his face. "Automne, come here and take hold of me!"

Automne stopped kicking the branch and turned to Ty with his hands held out in front of him, "Whooooa, where're you going with this?"

Ty stared at him with a mixture of shock and confusion, "What? No! For Dust's sake dude, just get over here." Ty demanded as he opened his shuriken.

"Okaaaay," Automne said hesitantly as he shuffled over to Ty.

Ty took the shuriken in one hand and raised it up behind him. "Alright, now grab on." Automne nodded his head and took hold only to immediately receive a shocked, curious stare from Ty after he had bent down and wrapped his arms around Ty's waist.

Automne stared back at Ty with an obvious amount of discomfort, "What?"

"You… could have just grabbed onto my arm…"

"… I-uh I don't want to screw up your throw or anything…"

Awkward silence filled the air for what felt like a minute before Ty cleared his throat.

"Alright then, let's go" he said as boldly as he could as he chucked _('Oh hey I get it.')_ His shuriken up into the trees above, "Hold on!" Ty shouted as he gave a small tug on the wire, whipping them off the ground and pulling them into the canopy. Ty gave a grunt and knocked Automne off into the air where he suddenly collided with a branch.

"Ow." Automne said flatly as he pulled himself onto the branch while Ty stood on a separate branch a few yards away trying to yank his shuriken out of the shattered wood. "Any particular reason why we're up here?" Irritation obvious in Automne's voice as he tried to balance himself on his branch.

"I had an awesome idea while we were down there; why not travel through the canopy? There's no brush to get in our way, these branches are thick enough to support our weight, and there are almost no Grimm that can get us up here." Ty shouted happily as he jumped over to Automne's branch.

"Huh, it's not a bad idea… Hey do you get the feeling that this seems kind of… familiar?"

"What do you mean?"

"It kind of feels like somebody has done this idea before… Kinda feels like we're ripping it off." Automne rubbed his neck, completely lost as to where they got the idea to dart through the trees to get to their destination.

"I know what you mean," Ty started, "But we can't worry about that now we need to get back to the cliffs. Now follow me!" Ty shouted boldly as he jumped to the nearest branch and flailed his arms back and forth insanely to keep his balance.

'_I really should have written my will before I came to this school.'_ Automne thought cynically as he followed Ty's lead and began to join him in jumping along tree branches.

The branches swayed heavily as they threw all of their weight onto the limbs hoping for dear life that they wouldn't snap and end up dragging them to the forest floor. The really great upside of being closer to the canopy was that there seemed to be more light than down below and if Automne didn't know that this forest was trying to kill him he would even have the audacity to call it peaceful.

In between jumps the forest felt so surreal, as if the trees were producing some kind of aroma created to lull people like him into a calm slumber. The kind where your eyes go heavy and your head begins to sway as you drift off into a comfortable mid-day nap. The kind of nap induced by a lack of foresight to not have your scarf cover your nose and mouth before doing any strenuous activity.

'_You're suffocating you idiot!' _

Automne shook his head back and forth as he landed on a branch; he pulled the scarf down below his chin and began to gasp for air. He lurched forward and placed his hands on his knees to steady himself as he tried to catch his breath.

"Dude, Y'all right?" Ty asked in concern as he fell back from the lead and joined Automne.

"Yeah," Automne managed to sputter between gasps, "Just. Catching. My breath."

Ty let out a sigh, "You had me worried for a second. You really need to work on your endurance, dude."

"How would I-" Automne held his breath.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and the air grew cold and dank as that piercing feeling of being watched burned into him. His body was screaming at him to run away, he looked around to see where it was, the entity that was about to kill him.

_**Below**_

"Automne move!" Ty shouted as he drew his weapon and leaped for another branch.

Automne turned to jump but a monstrous crushing noise roared into the air as the tree he was perched on snapped. Before he knew it he was falling, he turned over to see a pair of large black jaws rapidly leaping upwards to consume him whole.

Automne's mind began to race with ideas for how he could evade, his hands gripped his weapons and-

His mind went blank.

There it was, his life, his short sad, slightly ironic life flashing before his eyes as the seconds stretched on across the years as he approached the mouth of a King Taijitu.

Automne was ready to take his last breath and die, but a loud droning noise began to drown out his irrational thoughts.

Luckily the droning was more than just a minor annoyance. The annoying drone was emanating from Ty's large flaming shuriken, which was just about to collide with the Taijitu.

"Huh," Automne said blankly as the shuriken embedded itself in the serpent's head. A gut-wrenching shriek erupted from the monster as the force from the shuriken sent its head sideways into another tree.

'_Well at least I won't eat me.'_ Automne thought with a sense of satisfaction as he plummeted towards the ground.

A loud pop rang through the rushing wind as Ty scooped up Automne in his arms. The wind stopped streaming past Automne's face as all the color from the forest disappeared into white, gray and black outlines of what once was and in a sudden rush they rolled onto the ground with Automne secure in Ty's arms.

A large smile crossed Automne's mouth, "Heeeey, you saved me!" Automne cheered happily with a small chuckle.

"Didn't think I had to." Ty said with a hint of impatience as he dropped Automne onto the forest floor. Automne glanced around and saw that they were in a perfect circle devoid of any shrapnel from the shattered tree.

"So what just happened?" Automne asked utterly clueless as they got to their feet.

"I call it Burst Blink, but we have other things to worry about dude!" Ty informed as the King Taijitu began to rise off the forest floor with Ty's shuriken still embedded in its skull. "I lost the wire to my shuriken, distract it while I retrieve!" Ty ordered as he leapt over the fallen tree and out of sight.

The Taijitu must not have heard Ty's plan though, because instead of focusing on Automne it tracked Ty with its blood-red eyes.

"H-hey!" Automne was breathing heavily as he stared up at the one thing he feared most in the world. He gripped his sword and pistol so hard he thought he could feel blood dripping in his white knuckles. He could barely hold his gun steady, he crossed his right arm over his left in an attempt to keep his iron sights properly aligned, but he knew it was no good.

He was trembling like a coward as the King Taijitu continued to follow Ty with those piercing devil's eyes.

"HEY!" Automne hollered again as he put his foot forward and tried to steady the weapons in his hands.

Automne squeezed the trigger and sent a round down range towards that nightmare.

The seconds seemed to stretch on for days as the Taijitu slowly turned to him.

Automne could feel death creeping through him like a poisonous slug as that beast of a Grimm tore into him with its demonic stare.

It lunged forward.

Automne let out a visceral scream and opened fire.

The world went silent, Automne was screaming his head off, he pulled the trigger again and again and again and he was more than certain that the force of pure malevolence in front of him was shrieking, but he couldn't hear any of it, but he could feel all of it.

Automne pulled at the trigger again and was met with a horrifying click as the last round flew out of his barrel and the slide locked in place. Automne swore under his breath and faced his ninjato outwards towards the Taijitu.

Automne held one foot out towards the monster which was about to strike upon him. The beast rammed at him with the force of a train and sent him flying back, but not before Automne landed a small stab in between its scales.

Automne kicked his heels into the dirt and stabbed his blade down into the ground. A large cloud of dirt kicked up into the air and hung low to the ground as Automne staggered to recompose himself. He dropped the empty magazine from his pistol and quickly reloaded as the relentless serpent began to slither towards him, ready to retaliate for the minimal damage Automne had managed to cause.

A small smirk began to stretch across Automne's mouth as the stupid glory of Ty's plan came to fruition. The muscular warrior was running up the back of the completely unaware King Taijitu. He broke into a full sprint as he started to reach the end of the "path" and let out an incredible roar as he grasped onto his weapon's handle and ripped it out of the monster's head.

Ty pivoted quickly and slashed at the creature's nose before vanishing into thin air for a moment only to appear in the same spot. A sudden burst of energy erupted from Ty's "blink" and repelled him into a back flip while the Taijitu staggered from the recoil.

Ty landed next to Automne with an over the top pose that screamed 'I'm a badass.' But Automne wasn't one to judge, at least not too much, so he clapped a bit and nodded his head. "Nice, I'd give you a 9 out of 10 in the style portion. You cou- Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Automne shouted in frustration as the monster shook its head back and forth and once again locked its eyes on them.

Automne's blood was beginning to boil, he had had enough of this stupid, dirty, monster infested forest and this was just giving him a headache. Automne pulled his scarf over his mouth and adjusted his goggles, his eyes shimmering with a burning passion beneath, "Keep it in one place," Automne demanded as he began to walk off into the woods.

Ty stared at his partner, slightly perplexed as to what his vague order actually meant. "Dude, where-" Ty began before the Taijitu began to circle around him in preparation for a crushing constriction. Ty gave a gasp and teleported out of the narrowing coils.

Ty turned back to prepare for the Grimm's next attack, but a loud crunching noise filled the air. He turned to his left and had come to the realization that he had teleported too close to a tree and ended up blowing away a large portion of its trunk.

"Oh no," Ty muttered in his spare moment before the King Taijitu lunged at him again. He bolted backwards, his head was soaked in sweat and he could feel the energy draining out of him as this fight dragged on. Lucky for him his mistake had become an instant benefit as the lumbering tree he destroyed came toppling down on top of the Taijitu, pinning it against the ground.

The Grimm writhed and shrieked under the enormous tree which, to Ty's surprise, the monster was still capable of moving. Ty took this brief opportunity to catch his breath.

A loud scream filled the air as Automne suddenly appeared next to the head of the King Taijitu and plunged his blade into its blood red eye. The creature let out a shriek of anguish as fluid sprayed outwards onto Automne's face, but he wasn't done just yet. He pressed the barrel of his gun against its eye and began to fire wildly, its juices spraying all over him as he pumped every round he had into the monster even after its head slammed against the floor, indicating their victory.

Automne stared into the mutilated pool of blood and gore that was the Taijitu's eye and let out a sigh. His legs were tired and now he just wanted to sit down on the ground and sleep, but unfortunately he still had things to do.

"Nice job, you could've been a bit clearer with your instructions, but whatever." Ty said cheerfully as he walked over towards Automne and the now dead King Taijitu.

"Thanks," Automne said with a slightly hollow smile as he once again dropped a clip out of his pistol and replaced it with a new one from a pouch on his vest.

"So how did you do that invisibility thing?" Ty asked as he gestured to where Automne had first appeared.

Automne removed his blade from the eye of the Taijitu and wiped it against his sleeve. "It's my semblance; I can turn invisible for about a minute."

"Hmm, ever try more?" Ty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah I usually pass out."

"Huh… Hey does it feel like we're forgetting something?"

"I know what you mean, something just feels… off." Automne and Ty said completely clueless to the fact that the King Taijitu's other head was slowly creeping over the fallen tree, preparing to strike on the two of them.

"Hey idiots," A girl screamed from out of nowhere, "get back!" Automne and Ty turned toward the Grimm, shock and fatigue had taken their toll and there was nothing left for them to do.

'_Well time to see my life again.'_ Automne conceded hopelessly as the white jaws of the King Taijitu closed in only to collide with a large light blue triangular wall of light with a flower in the center.

That's when she slid in between the barrier protecting Ty and Automne from death and the imposing monstrous Grimm.

'_It's her,'_ Time seemed to slow down once again as Automne marveled at her stunning, short, blue hair waving gently as an almost nonexistent breeze grazed past them. _'She's even lovelier in her gear.'_ His love-struck mind whispered as he watched creepily as she pulled a shotgun off her back and opened fire, a pair of orange bandanas tied to her arm whipped along with her purple leather jacket as her hail of gunfire held the Taijitu at a distance.

The girl's shotgun gave a loud click; she grasped the top of the barrel in her hands adorned with fingerless gloves, _('Because of course she would wear fingerless gloves.')_ and flipped her weapon over her shoulder. The grip folded up into the now smooth, streamlined handle as a sharp axe-head popped out from the stock with a metallic shink to form an axe which she wielded with an intense confidence.

She steadied her grip on the handle and raised it above her head in a defensive stance. The hair on Automne's neck stood on end as the Taijitu lunged forward; its jaws wide open with the primal desire to rip the mysterious badass apart, but Automne already knew she was going to win this.

The girl glided out of the Grimm's path on a single foot and swung her axe downwards into the mouth of the King Taijitu, lodging its head into the serpent's gums.

She raised a hand off of her axe and with a flick of the wrist created another barrier in its mouth. "Now!"

A sudden rush of black and white swept past the girl and sliced through the Taijitu's fangs with a single clean cut. The blur came to an immediate stop as she turned, her long, lustrous black hair shimmered elegantly as she turned her long weapon in her small gloved hands, jabbing the end of it into the dirt and propelling herself into the air.

'_Eve?'_ disbelief and doubt rushed through his mind as the delicate and strange girl he had met only yesterday flipped through the air, the sun glistening off of her glasses as she flew down onto the top of the King Taijitu, impaling the bladed end of her staff into the center of its white and gray head.

The barriers shattered and dissipated into the air, causing the King Taijitu's mouth to awkwardly clap shut in the now silent clearing.

Eve leaned onto her staff, which was humorously taller than she was, and looked over at Automne with an absolutely cheerful expression. "Hey Automne!" Eve quietly cheered as she waved to get his attention.

"You know these guys?" The blue haired girl grunted as she ripped her axe out of the dead Grimm's mouth, glancing over at Automne and Ty from behind a pair of bright orange mirrored aviators.

"Mhmm," Eve nodded her head happily, "Well, I know that one." Eve pointed at Automne then took a firm hold of her weapon and tried to pull it out of the Taijitu with no avail.

"Hey dude," Ty whispered to Automne, "Is your friend with the naginata single?" Ty asked with a suggestive grin as he pointed over at Eve who was still struggling to remove her weapon from the Taijitu's corpse.

"Too late tough guy," The girl with the axe interjected as she wiped the head of her axe against her purple cargo capris. "I already called dibs on her." An arrogant smile crossed her lips as she rested her axe on her shoulder and placed her other hand on her hip causing the bandoliers covering her midriff to lightly jingle.

'_Wait, did she just say she called dibs.' _Dread began to crawl into Automne.

"You can't call dibs when no one's around to hear it."

'_Oh my Dust, she's a lesbian. Meaning you have absolutely no chance with her.'_

"Well you just heard me call dibs. So there you go."

'_Well there goes any chance of living a happy life with her and having five kids. Then again I didn't actually know her; I just fantasized for a few hours or so.'_

"That's crap and you know it." Ty said heatedly as their stupid argument began to disintegrate.

"Well tough luck, pal. I saw her first so unless-"

"Enough!" An absolutely irritated Automne shouted.

Eve stopped yanking at her Naginata and looked over at the tree of them. "What was that?"

Automne looked over at Eve, feigning pure befuddlement. "What was what?"

"I thought you said something."

Automne removed his goggles and blinked a few times, "Ummm… No, I don't think I did."

"Oh," Eve blinked a few times and looked back to her weapon. "Never mind then." She shouted almost inaudibly as she returned to the task of removing her weapon from the dead Grimm.

Automne turned back to Eve's partner and Ty, "Look," He breathed in an irate whisper, "Neither of you are calling 'dibs'. Eve's a good friend and she deserves better and if you even try anything I'll shut it down before it even starts. Are we clear?"

A loud sloshing sound filled the air as Eve dislodged her weapon from the King Taijitu's head, causing her to raise it above her head and let out some cheerful laughter, before walking over to the front of its head where she sat down and slowly slid off.

"Crystal," Eve's partner said with a hint of agitation in her tone.

"Alright, fine." Ty said with a disappointed frown as he crossed his arms.

"Good, now never speak of this again." Automne said in a rush before Eve joined them.

"Hey guys, so what're you talking about?" Eve asked happily as she held her tall weapon at her side and glanced between the trio.

"Oh nothing much we were just thanking your teammate for helping us out." Automne lied through his teeth as he looked back and forth between Ty and the partner.

"Yeah, we're really grateful for the help." Ty added with a small honest smile.

"It's not a problem," the blue haired girl said flatly as she sheathed her weapon in a holster on her back. She extended her hand out towards Automne, "My name's Petunia," A wry smile present on her lips.

Automne couldn't help but feel crushed as the thought of having absolutely no chance with Petunia sat in his mind, "I'm Automne." He said with a weak smile. _'Y'know the funny part is I wouldn't have guessed on Petunia; given the hair and all.'_

"And I'm Ty."

"Hi Ty, I'm Eve." She said happily as she shook Ty's hand after Petunia.

Ty gave a loud comfortable sigh, "Alright now that introductions are out of the way let's get going." Ty insisted with a sense of urgency.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to rest for a minute? You look exhausted." A worried Eve inquired as Ty made to walk off through the forest.

"There's no time for that. The longer we take to get out of this forest the worse our scores will become." Ty added in concern.

Eve giggled a bit, "You don't have to worry about that. I can use my semblance to heal all of us while we walk." Eve added with a proud smile as she put her hands together and rested her weapon in the crook of her elbow. The air around them began to grow cool and soft against their skin as a dense, but unusually clear fog engulfed them.

Automne took a deep breath and reveled in the soothing mist which seemed to be patching the cuts along his face and numbing some of his bruises. "Thanks Eve, this is awesome!"

"Thanks, I'm glad it's helping." Eve said through staggered breaths as beads of sweat ran down her face.

"Alright, now let's move out!" Ty called out to the freshly rejuvenated group, who promptly joined him in the last leg of their journey through the forest.

* * *

They did it; they ventured through the Emerald Forest, retrieved a relic and managed to make it out of that Dust-forsaken place alive, with the worst possible time out of all the other students who were participating. Automne didn't want to focus on that last part though. They were alive and that's all that mattered… for the most part, and now they patiently waited to be called up to the stage by Ozpin to become inducted into Beacon Academy.

"Go," An occupied Glynda whispered as Ty, Automne, Petunia and Eve were ushered onto the stage.

Automne gave a small sigh, "This is it." He muttered to himself with a smile on his face as the four of them stepped forward in unity with their hands held behind their backs.

"Tyrian Inuhoozuki," Ozpin began, watching them with reserved joy as they took their place in front of him.

Automne blinked a few times, _'Am… Am I with the right group?'_

"Automne Ombre Noire,"

'_Oh… Wait, Ty's name isn't Ty?'_

"Petunia Kapelle, and Eve Howlite. The four of you retrieved the black pawn pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as team Taupe, led by, Tyrian Inuhoozuki."

A large smile spread across Automne's face as he looked from _"Tyrian" _to Petunia and Eve, but something caught his eye. That being the large monitor above them presenting the letters T-A-P-E.

Automne quickly nudged Tyrian and pointed up at the monitor. Tyrian looked up and a horrified expression slowly washed away the joy from his newly acquired position.

Ozpin opened his mouth to call up the next students, but was interrupted by a raised hand from Tyrian. "Umm Professor Ozpin, I hate to interrupt, but our name spells tape." Tyrian said with an evident amount of concern.

Petunia's mouth fell open as she stared up at their team name which had begun to elicit a bit of laughter from their fellow students.

"Yes, but it's pronounced taupe." Ozpin said statically as he looked between the four of them.

"Well… yeah, but… can't you put a U in there instead of an E? Or something."

"I'm sorry but none of your names start with a U. Now if you wouldn't mind clearing the stage, there are other students who need to be initiated." Ozpin asked politely.

Tyrian, Automne, Petunia and Eve complied quietly and walked off the stage completely embarrassed, and the random students pointing, whispering, and snickering didn't exactly help to boost their self-esteem.

Automne gave a heavy sigh as they found a place to stand in the crowd, "So… Your name's Tyrian." He said flatly as he glanced over at Tyrian's boots.

"I prefer to be called Ty." He responded listlessly, his mind clearly somewhere else. "It's more fluid that way."

Automne nodded his head and muttered "Alright," He glanced over at Petunia and Eve, Petunia was rubbing her temples, obviously tired out from this entire day and Eve was just staring at one section of the floor.

"It's not so bad." Her quiet uneasy voice rang out to her teammates.

"Not so bad? Eve, we're probably one of the worst teams here." Petunia said in a sad, discouraged and tired tone.

"And our name sounds so stupid." Ty added to the steaming pot of depression.

Eve paused for a minute, Ozpin's voice still ringing in the background as he announced the name of another team. "I think we're pretty cool." Eve said in a small sad voice.

Silence fell between the four of them as they all stared at the floor, with the exception of Automne who was watching Eve with a bit of pity in his eyes.

"I don't think we're cool," Automne broke the silence and gained the attention of his teammates who stared at him inquisitively and slightly offended. "We're a bit too awesome to be cool. Like no offense to everyone else, but I don't think they can match our amazing potential and skill." Automne sarcastically boasted.

A sly grin grew on Petunia's face as she pulled her aviators out of her jacket and slide them onto her face. "Yeah, I mean those other guys got style and all," Petunia popped up the collar of her jacket and tried to hold back a laugh "But they can't touch our swagger."

Ty pushed his glasses up his nose and crossed his arms, "Between the four of us we've got enough skill and brains to outmatch anyone or anything that stands in our way." A large smile dominated his face as he puffed out his chest.

Automne looked back to Eve who was now wearing a giddy smile. A large smirk crossed Automne's lips as he held out his fist before Eve. Eve's eyes glimmered with tears of happiness as she lightly pounded her gloved hand against Automne's.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year." Ozpin stated, concluding the ceremonies in the background while Team TAPE shared a laugh in the crowd.

* * *

Petunia let out a loud groan as Team TAPE trudged down the hallway towards their dorm. "How much further?"

"Not far," Ty responded patiently as he looked at a sheet of paper that was handed to him after they were inducted. "Keep your eyes open for #38."

"Noooo, I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. Automne, dude, you watch for it." Petunia whined as she dragged her feet against the floor.

"Oh tone it down it's not like they made us climb stairs or anything." Automne slurred as he tried to suppress a yawn.

"Yeah and they even put our luggage in our room for us, so that's nice." Eve chimed in as she lifted her glasses to rub her puffy eyes with one hand while she held all of their uniforms against her chest with the other.

"I wish they would've carried me." Petunia whined as she swayed back and forth with every step.

"Well we're here so you can stop whining now, Ty toss me the key."

"There is no physical key. We have to program a code into our Scrolls so we can each unlock the door when we want to without worrying about losing a key." Ty responded with an angry glare.

Automne gave a groan, "Dude I said we'd go to a repair place this weekend. Just tell me the code."

"I'm not supposed to say it out loud."

"Gah, then get over here." Automne said impatiently.

"Guys you need to be nicer to each other." Eve said in a small reasonable voice.

"He legally owes me a new Scroll." Ty complained as he held his papers in front of Automne's face.

"I said we'll talk about it later, but right now I think we've all earned some well deserved rest." The lock to the door clicked open and Automne pushed the door in. "Voila,"

"Oh thank Dust," Petunia said weakly as she trudged in and began to remove the bandoliers from around her waist and stomach, throwing them onto the floor in the center of the room. "This one's mine." She called out as she pulled off her shoes and fell face first onto the bed on her immediate right.

Automne couldn't refrain from staring as Petunia slipped out of her jacket and rolled onto her back. Her orange tank top seductively crawling up her body as she writhed in bed and rubbed her face against the bright red sheets.

"You're drooling, dude." Ty said flatly as he walked over to the bed on the far left of the room, sat down and started to remove his armor.

Automne ran his sleeve over his mouth only to realize that Ty was messing with him. "Very funny,"

A loud clatter and the soft sound of folded clothes hitting the ground filled the air. Automne turned around just in time to see Eve sprinting down the hallway.

"Eve?!" Automne called after her, he knew it was no good, but there's no harm in trying. He let out a sigh and began to pick up their uniforms from the ground.

"Where'd she run off to?" Ty asked from the room as Automne picked up Eve's almost unwieldy weapon in one hand.

"I don't know. She does this kind of thing a lot." Automne stood Eve's weapon up against himself and examined the mostly smooth shaft and slightly curved blade which towered above his head, he even had to walk it into the room at an angle because it was too tall for the doorframe.

Automne walked over to an empty desk and set the uniforms down. "How long do you think she'll be gone?" Ty asked from across the room as he slipped into a pair of pajama pants.

"I dunno, but I wouldn't worry about it." He replied as he leaned her weapon against the wall, removed his own from the holsters on his back and placed them on the ground next to hers.

Automne sat down on the bed to the far right of the room and began to remove his vest when a loud billowing sound began to grow closer.

"Do you hear that?" Automne asked casually as he stood up.

But Ty's reply wasn't really necessary because right then Eve burst into the room carrying a large blue tarp. She threw the tarp down in the center of the room and ran over to a white suitcase. She popped open the suitcase and rustled its contents around loudly before pulling out a handful of large needles.

"Umm Eve, what are you-"

"If we're going to be living together in the same room we need to have something to divide us!" Eve softly shouted as she stood on top of a night stand, pierced the tarp with one of the needles and threw it into the ceiling.

"Okaaay, but where did you get that tarp?" Automne asked with growing concern as Eve hopped down from the night stand and moved it over a couple of feet.

"I borrowed it from the janitor."

"And he was okay with this?"

"I'm not sure, he wasn't there."

"Uh huh, hey Ty feel free to pitch in whenever you want." Automne advised with hints of concern in his voice.

"I want no part in this." Ty called back as he buried his head under his blankets.

'_Terrific,'_

"So Eve, we're going to give the tarp back, right?"

Eve threw another needle into the roof, "Yeah, but we'll need to get a curtain first." Eve stated in a happy, but humorless tone. "I figured maybe we could go shopping this weekend and buy a nice one that goes on a rail so we can open it up during the day." Eve said with a smile as she threw the last needle into the ceiling and formed a dirty blue impromptu wall that divided the room in half. "So what do you think?" Eve asked with a warm smile as she joined Automne on the right half of the room.

Automne stared up at the tarp for a minute then looked back to Eve whom was watching him with an eager smile, Automne gave a heavy sigh. "What kind of curtain did you want to get?" a small tired smile crossed his lips.

Eve put a finger to her bottom lip, "I'm not quite sure yet, you can help choose if you want to."

Automne gave a small chuckle and walked past Eve and held the tarp to the side, "We can go looking for that stuff this weekend and I'll help you pay for half of all of it." He offered with a smile.

Eve's face went blank from Automne's sudden generosity. "Really? I mean you don't have to, I was going to pay for it all myself."

Automne shrugged, "Eh, it's not a problem, what are friends for?" He uttered with a small smile as he walked behind the tarp and removed his vest.

There was no reply from Eve until after Automne had removed all of his gear and slipped into his bed, and when it came it was only a few pleasant words, "Good night, Automne." Her sweet voice rang through the dark, "and thank you."

Automne slowly closed his eyes, "Good night, Eve." He gently called back as he snuggled his head against his pillow.

'_Anything to make them happy.'_ He thought to himself as he buried his face in the cool fabric of his pillow. There was a lot coming their way, but that was still a while away, so until then he didn't have to worry about it.

Right now all they had to do was get some sleep.

_'I did it.'_

* * *

**Hey everybody, thank you for reading if you're enjoying the story follow and favorite and please leave a review. I'm eager to hear what you guys and gals have to say. A big thank you to my editor NinjaSlayer4x for his support, go check out his story if you haven't already. Please tune in next time for the escapades of "Ty", Automne, Petunia and Eve, but until then peace out.**

**-CS**


	5. Go have some fun

"Dude," a sharp whisper hissed in Automne's ear. "Dude, wake up." A rugged pale hand lightly patted him on the cheek causing Automne to let out a loud groan.

"Five more minutes, dad." Automne slurred as he rolled over in his bed.

"Do you think we should give him another few minutes?" A separate, softer, voice whispered

"I didn't get to sleep in, why does he get to sleep in?" Yet another voice attempted to whisper.

"Alright, then you go wake him up."

"Why me? I barely know him. Eve you do it."

"What?! Why me?"

"You're his friend,"

"But I only met him a couple days ago."

"For the love of Dust, somebody wake him up. They're going to stop serving breakfast soon."

'_I don't even think these people know how to whisper. That or they really just don't care about waking me up.'_

"Automne," Eve whispered as she lightly poked Automne in the shoulder with a single finger.

Automne let out a loud groan, "What,"

"Ty said you need to wake up so we can get ready for class."

Automne rubbed his face against his pillow and groaned a little more. "Well, go ahead and tell him I'll just meet up with you guys in a bit. I want to- Ahhhh" Automne cried out in shock, his eyes shot open in panic as Ty began to empty a large bottle of water onto his head. "Stop- Dude, stop!" Automne sputtered as he flailed his hands over his head in an attempt to knock the water bottle away.

"You ready to get up?" Ty asked with an amused smile as he tilted the bottle back, stopping the flow of cold water onto his face.

"Yeah, alright, fine I'm getting up! Jeez, was that really necessary?"Automne whined as he lifted his goggles off of his eyes and wiped his face on a portion of his sheets that weren't sopping wet.

"We did ask nicely. You should really be thanking me for letting all of you sleep in for an extra hour." Ty added with a tone that screamed 'My kindness is unappreciated' heavy in his voice as he screwed the cap back on the bottle.

"It's 6 o'clock man!" an irritated Automne screamed as he stared at his Scroll.

"Automne, Eve, Petunia if we're going to become great Huntsmen then we need to train as hard as we possibly can," Ty leapt up onto his bed, "And the best place to start improving is with the simple stuff. We need to wake up as a team and eat a healthy breakfast together!" He placed his hands on his hips nobly; a gallant smile spread across his lips. "Also I'm going to create a route for all of us to jog in the morning before class. While you were all still asleep I went for a run by myself and came up with a nice rigorous path that'll be sure to get your heart's pumping."

Petunia and Automne let out a simultaneous moan of disappointment.

'_Had to be partnered with an insane person. Couldn't just be some girl with daddy issues or some hot chick, had to be this guy.'_

"Now go get dressed Automne, we should be down at the Cafeteria for some breakfast in the next 10 minutes."

"What, no shower?"

"Why else do you think I poured water on you?"

Automne gave a tired sigh and crawled out of his bed. "Alright whatever, hey where's my suitcase?" Automne asked curiously as he walked over to a small mountain of orange and purple luggage. Automne tried to lift one and quickly realized they were heavier than they appeared to be.

"Hey, be careful with those." Petunia demanded as she sauntered over and took the suitcase out of Automne's hands with little effort.

"That thing weighs a ton, what do you got in there?"

"Oh, it's just some of my equipment." She stated with a proud smile as she placed it on Ty's bed, popped open the latches and opened the lid to reveal a computer server secured in foam.

Automne blinked a few times, not entirely sure what to make of this as he scanned over the bulky server and the six or seven other suitcases which he had to assume were carrying similar technology. "So, I'm assuming you're some kind of techie or something."

Petunia shrugged as she ran her hands over her server. "Eh, something like that."

Before Automne could ask for a bit of clarification as to what exactly that extremely vague reply meant he was hit in the face with a black and gold suit.

"Come on dude, we got to get out of here in less than 8 minutes. Get dressed." Ty ordered as he stared at his wrist watch.

"Hold on a second!" Eve cried out as she dived behind their makeshift curtain. "Okay, you may change now." The strange girl called out as her teammates stared at the curtain in bewilderment.

Automne shook his head a little and pulled off his wet shirt and tossed it on top of the sopping mess that was his bed. "Hey dude these things aren't itchy or anything, right?" he asked as he pulled his white button-up over his bare skin.

"They're a little warm I guess, but they're not that bad." Ty responded with a shrug as he pulled his sleeve back to look at his wristwatch.

"I expected them to be worse. The handbook said we're allowed to customize them a bit." Petunia added, giving a small tug to an orange bandanna she had wrapped around her bicep.

"The book said that?" Automne paused for a moment, "Do you think it would be an issue if I wore my goggles?"

"You'd probably be alright, but we'll be inside for most of the day so there's really no need to wear them." Ty held out his watch for Automne to see, "Five more minutes."

"Alright, alright, and yeah I know, but I'm not going to be wearing them inside, I'm not rude. I just like to have them around." Automne mumbled as he pulled on his jacket. "So we all ready to go?"

"We were waiting on you so yeah. Eve it's safe to come out now."

'_I really didn't ask you to wait for me. You could have gone at any time.'_

"Sorry for the wai-"Automne stopped as Eve came around the curtain, a pair of deep black stockings clinging tightly to her legs while her long black hair lightly swayed behind her. A broad smile grew across Automne's lips as he noticed a simply wonderful detail about Eve.

"Hey, Eve are you… are those surgical gloves?" Automne asked in amusement as he stared at a pair of white gloves, that looked like they had just been thoroughly sanitized, which crawled up her wrists and into her sleeves.

"What? No," Eve stared down at her gloves and quickly realized Automne was teasing her. Eve blushed a little and held her hands behind her, a look of discomfort quickly swept over her as she muttered the word, "Meanie."

Automne gave a sigh. "You really need to lighten up, Eve."

"Or maybe you need to be less of a jerk." Ty interjected as he walked past them and stepped out into the hall.

"Well… at least I don't put a bunch of gel in my hair." Automne called back, his own hair resembling nothing more than a bunch of wet, greasy dirty-blonde locks.

Petunia gave a sigh and followed the two bickering idiots into the hallway. "Guys chill out, all we need are a couple cups of coffee and we'll be golden."

"I hope they have waffles." Eve said with a small smile as she lightly closed the door.

* * *

The cafeteria was absolutely bustling as the students packed into lines and crowded whole sections of tables that first years had claimed for their own team. Kind of like how Team TAPE was jammed shoulder to shoulder (with the exception of Eve who needed her own "personal space") at a table in the center of the room, quietly enjoying their food… Well more or less enjoying their food.

"So… Eve… How- How're ya' liking those waffles?" Automne slurred as he pushed around some scrambled eggs.

"They're actually pretty good." She said with a smile before shoveling another fork of buttered up waffles into her mouth, a small trail of syrup left trailing down her chin.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and lifted some eggs into his mouth. "Fantastic," He said with a slightly bitter tone as he glared at the only milk the cafeteria workers let him have; a measly half pint of 2% milk. He lifted the carton up, turned it around in his hands a couple times and gave another heavy sigh, "ridiculous," he muttered before he took a sip.

"Well, it isn't all bad," Ty added as he swallowed a bit of ham.

"Speak for yourself," Petunia interrupted as she swirled a spoon through her cup of coffee. "They ran out of the vanilla creamer. Now I'm stuck with this hazelnut crap."

"Well, at least the view is nice." Ty added with a sly smile as he nodded his head to a group of girls sitting at the next table over.

"Huh not bad, not bad at allll~" Petunia trailed off as she stared at the girls with an aroused look in her eye.

'_Pfft what a bunch of degenerate perv- Ooh that one's kinda hot.'_ Automne thought as one of the girls caught his eye.

"Hey dude," Ty gave him a nudge, "Pick one and we'll go over and ask 'em if they're free this weekend."

Automne choked suddenly on his eggs and tried to make it look like a horrible cough. _'Is he being serious?! He wants to actually talk to them? That's insane, my hair looks like a mess, and I didn't actually have a shower. I probably smell horrible, and I'm just not good at talking. I slur my words all the time. They're probably gonna think I'm weird… Well, I kind of am… But I can't let them know that. I need to get out of this!' _

Automne cleared his throat, "Umm, no thanks, I think I'll pass this time."

"Come on dude, if you don't-"

Petunia suddenly stood up and placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "Boys, how about you sit this one out and let me show you how it's done?" The blue haired girl was practically radiating confidence and it actually made Automne feel like less of a man. With a couple of quick moves she hoisted herself over the table and casually sauntered over to the girls.

"So… that just happened." Automne mumbled in confirmation as he looked over at Ty who was still watching Petunia work her moves with interest. "Alright then," He mumbled to himself as he turned back to his food, but he couldn't help but notice something happening out of the corner of his eye. Eve had placed her elbow onto the table and was using it to prop up the side of her face as she pushed around a piece of waffle with her fork.

"Hey Eve, what's the matter."

Eve immediately tried to straighten up, "Oh, it's nothing."

There were a couple moments of silence between them as Automne watched her with doubtful eyes. Eve didn't raise her gaze to meet his though; she was more focused on pushing the piece of waffle through a small pool of melted butter and syrup.

"I don't think Petunia's doing very well." Ty said, suddenly breaking the silence while a look of discomfort simultaneously formed on Eve's face.

Automne's gaze softened a bit as he began to get to the source of the problem. "Ya' wanna talk about it?" He persisted.

With fantastic results,

Eve gave a small, somber sigh. "It's just… I feel a little," she folded her hands in her lap and gave another sigh. "Left out,"

Automne blinked a few times, reached over and patted Ty on the shoulder. "Dude," he muttered as Ty snickered to himself. "I think-"

"A simple no would've worked!" Petunia grumbled angrily as she rejoined the rest of her team.

"So, how'd it go?" Ty replied with a broad grin.

"She threw orange juice in my face! Who the hell throws orange juice?!" She growled as she furiously ran her sleeve over her eyes.

"Guys, seriously," Automne growled as he grabbed them by the shoulders and pulled them into a small huddle.

"Dude, what's up?" Petunia asked in a slightly agitated voice, her eyes horribly bloodshot and her face reeking of citrus.

"Shh," Automne quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Eve staring at them curiously. "It's Eve,"

"What about Eve?" Ty asked in concern as he glanced out at Eve.

"She said we're making her feel left out." Automne looked between the two of them and when he saw no visceral reactions he gave a small sigh. "Look, I was talking to her the other day and as far as I can tell we're the first real friends she's had. I don't want her to feel excluded."

The two looked between each other before Ty put a hand to his chin. "Alright, well what do you think we should do then?"

"I don't know; that's why we're in a huddle."

"How about a team bonding thing? You know, something we could all do together." Petunia inquired as she rubbed at her eyes.

"That sounds good, but I was looking over all of our schedules while you guys were asleep and she has a packed schedule. She has about seven classes and those don't include the required classes that we have together."

'_Dust she wasn't kidding when she said she had no time for a social life.'_ Automne thought as he looked over his shoulder to see Eve was watching them patiently.

"Well, how about we do something this weekend,"

"That might work." Ty replied with a small smile.

Automne tapped his fingers against the table for a couple seconds, "And how about we let her decide where we go?"

Ty gave a shrug, "I don't see why not."

"Alrighty then, I guess I'll tell her." Automne concluded with a smile.

"Umm guys, I could hear everything you're saying." Eve chimed in a slightly guilty voice. "You're not very good at whispering, no offense."

Automne gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "None taken,"

The three of them quickly dispersed with a clear amount of embarrassment equally spread between them, like a fine butter over warm idiot toast. But they didn't let it get to them too much because Eve was now wearing a broad warm smile on her face and was swinging her legs back and forth gaily.

Eve lifted her thick glasses and lightly dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you," She whispered in her usual soft, tender voice. "And don't worry I'll be sure to decide on something completely amazing and fun for all of us."

* * *

"Eve," Automne called as he followed the dark haired girl down the streets of Vale. "Eve, come on. Come back,"

The hunched over girl was ignoring him though and was certainly making no effort to slow down. The worst part (at least in Automne's eyes) was that she was walking straight down the sidewalk forcing people to walk around her and warranting Automne to keep uttering apologies to everyone who she happened to inconvenience.

"Eve, please stop." Automne whined. The hapless teen gave a sigh and was promptly smacked on the back of the head. "Hey-"

"Dude, we told you to talk to her." Ty scolded Automne as he started to pass him.

Automne placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back to his pace. "She likes her personal space so I'm trying to let her calm down."

"Well, she would probably feel better if you would actually apologize to her." Petunia added with a furrowed brow as she joined the two of them, trailing behind Eve as a group.

"I don't need to apologize; I didn't do anything."

"You broke that thing in the jar and got us kicked out of the museum."

"The sign said I could look at the thing closely. It's not my fault that the jar was greasy. Besides I wasn't the one who said I 'hated' the museum right in front of her."

"I didn't know she was there. You said she was going to look at some tapeworm thing somewhere else."

"Well how was I supposed to-"

"Guys, that's enough," Ty hissed angrily as he stepped between the two of them and pulled them in close. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that we fix what we started. Now let's- hey, where'd she go?"

Automne and Petunia looked up to see that their teammate was no longer miserably shuffling down the sidewalk in front of them.

"Aww crap, we lost her." Automne spun around a couple times in a panic. He gave a couple short whistles "Eve, where are you?"

"You jackass," Petunia yelled as she punched Automne in the stomach. "She's not a dog!"

"I know she's not a dog. I just thought she'd respond to whistling."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I heard her whistling the other day in class," Automne replied stupidly as he rubbed at his stomach.

Petunia slapped a hand against her forehead, while Ty just pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"Automne, as your leader, I'm ordering you for the next five minutes to just shut up. Now let's go and find her; she couldn't have gotten too far." Ty looked up and down the street a couple of times, "Alright, Petunia, I want you to make a right at the next turn and Automne and I will make a left. If you find her send a message to-"

"-Is that her over there?" Petunia interrupted flatly as she pointed to a small pub across the street with a couple of neon signs and a large blob of white and black in the grimy window.

Ty squinted hard, "It could be. Well, it wouldn't hurt to check." Ty looked up and down the street before jogging into the road, quickly followed by Automne and Petunia.

"I strongly disagree," Automne groaned pessimistically as he imagined everything from the bartender throwing them out into the street to the patrons of the bar beating them to a pulp.

"You're still under orders."

"Well, I've decided to not follow them." Automne replied with a grimace as they jumped onto the curb.

Ty gave an exacerbated sigh as he walked up to the pub's large green door and pulled it open by its bronze handle.

The thick scent of alcohol coupled with greasy food wafted past them as they stepped into a large dimly lit room. The pub was packed with thick wood tables and chairs coated with crumbs, covered with notches and splinters, layers of dust, and water stains. There was even a stage at the back of the room that could fit a band if it weren't occupied by a set of amplifiers and a karaoke machine.

"There she is." Ty said; relief heavy in his voice as he walked over to one of the only occupied tables and pulled up a chair next to the miserable looking girl who was too busy poking at some splintered wood to notice him.

Automne gave a sigh and hung back while Petunia joined the feel good brigade.

'_This building, it feels so… cold.'_ Automne thought to himself as he looked over to the middle aged bartender, mindlessly cleaning a beer mug, and gave a sigh. Automne walked around the table where the rest of his team was sitting and pulled out a chair. He dropped into the chair and stared up at the quiet empty stage.

"I wonder what this place was like, back in its heyday." Automne was basically talking to himself, but the rest of his team was listening intently as he speculated about glory days that may have never even existed.

"Probably a lot of drunken people," Ty responded promptly, eliciting a few chuckles from Automne.

"It was probably really loud too." Petunia added.

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he looked around the room and imagined a bunch of drunken men and women packed into the pub drinking and singing at the top of their lungs. "Yeah, that sounds… horrible." He finished with a smirk. "Hey, Eve, why did you come in here?" he turned for the first time to face Eve who was dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief.

"I saw a sign in the window that said karaoke and my dad and I love karaoke so I figured maybe it would cheer me up." Eve said in a small voice as she tried to straighten herself up a bit.

"Huh," Automne looked back at the machine. "Did ya' try,"

Eve shook her head, "The bartender said I couldn't and he said I was too young to be in here so I need to leave."

Automne looked over at the Bartender who was giving them a venomous glare.

"Well, I guess we'll just need to ask him again. C'mon Ty,"

"Why do I need to be there?" Ty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because nobody likes me, now come on. You're more persuasive anyway."

Ty gave a heavy sigh and followed Automne to the bar where the bartender was waiting with a look of agitation on his face.

Automne cleared his throat as they stepped up to the bar, "Uhm hello- hi, uh we were wondering if we could- well, if our friend could use your karaoke machine, please." Automne sputtered with a weak smile.

'_I imagined that going much more smoothly.'_ Automne was already beginning to doubt the formation of his ridiculously stupid plan.

"Look kid, like I told your friend over there the karaoke machine is only for customers and I don't serve anyone under 18." The bartender calmly explained, "Now, if you don't mind, I need you and your friends to leave before I call the cops."

"Is there maybe something we could order off a menu- like some onion rings or something- We'll leave right after she's done." Automne nervously persisted until Ty put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude it's no use, legally we're not even supposed to be in here. I think Eve will understand."

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "Alright, I'm sorry for the wasting your time sir."

"Hey hold on a minute, you look familiar." The bartender put a hand up to his round chin.

"Who, me?" Automne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not you, you." The bartender nodded his head at Ty. "Can't put my finger on it; I think I saw you in the paper recently." The bartender snapped his fingers as a grin crossed his face. "I remember you now, you're on the Vale Police Force! I read an article about you and a couple other guys stopping a local crime spree that happened a couple blocks over. Had your picture in the paper with the mayor; you boys are heroes." The bartender concluded with a wide smile.

"Thank you sir," Ty replied, while wearing an earnest smile.

"So, are these some of your friends from the force?"

"No, they're part of my team. I decided to become a Hunter and these are my fellow huntsmen."

"Woooow," The bartender said in awe as he nodded like a bobble head. "That's really admirable son." He glanced around between the members of team TAPE and scratched the side of his head. "Alright both of you c'me here for a second. Now listen, you seem like decent kids so I'll let you use the karaoke machine."

"Really," Automne started with a large grin.

"Epepep, you're only getting one song. After that you're outta here. And I don't want you telling any of your friends about this place or anything. It's already hard enough to get people coming in here. I don't need a bunch of teenagers in here, got it?" He pointed his finger at Ty and Automne.

"Of course, thank you sir! One song and then we'll be out of your hair." Automne said, positively brimming with joy as he turned around and made for the table where Petunia and Eve were still waiting.

"About time, what'd he say?" Petunia called as she tried to rock back in forth in her chair.

"I don't mean to brag, but my great negotiation skills-"

"The guy recognized me from the paper and said we could have one song. Automne almost got us arrested." Ty corrected as he slowly walked up behind Automne.

Automne cleared his throat, "-Yeah, well, the point is you can go up there and sing all you want Eve… Well, not all you want because you only get one song, but the point is you get a song."

Eve gave a huge gasp, quickly stood up, pushed her chair in and ran up through the maze of tables toward the stage.

"Well, she seems happy. Nice job guys." Petunia said with a smile as Eve pulled herself onto the stage.

"Eh, well somebody had to do something. Do you think she's any good?" Automne asked, watching Eve in the distance as she scrolled her finger across a list at the front.

"Well we'll see; I think she's starting."

Eve bounced onto the center of the stage and looked around the large almost empty room with a microphone held close to her chest. Speakers set throughout the pub began to lightly crackle before the first chords of the song started.

Automne, Petunia, and Ty were all watching with curiosity as soon as Eve's light breathing came over the speakers.

Eve opened her mouth and- not a sound.

Eve cleared her throat a bit, the music playing loudly throughout the room as the lyrics raced across a screen at the front.

"Uh oh," Automne uttered in surprise as Eve continued to glance around while mouthing the words to the song. Automne, Ty and Petunia all exchanged concerned glances before Automne quickly stood up. "I'm on it."

_'Why doesn't anything ever go right? Is that too much to ask for?'_ Automne thought to himself as he bolted up towards the stage.

"Eve, what's wrong?" Automne asked in concern as soon as he looked up to the stage.

"My dad would usually start the song," Eve said in a terrified voice as she knelt down to explain. "And then I would harmonize with him. I've never actually done this alone before."

"Oh my Dust, well… alright, umm, alright I know I'll sing with you." Automne gripped onto the stage and hoisted himself up with an embarrassing amount of effort. Automne made his way onto the center stage next to Eve, cleared his throat, and gestured for Eve to pass the microphone. "Don't worry I got this." He whispered as she passed him the microphone."Baby you're a firework! Come on let your colors burst! Make 'em go ah ah- hey!" Automne bleated out like a dying goat before Petunia placed her hand over the microphone and shook her head.

"No dude," She said flatly as she pulled the microphone from his hands. "Let me,

"You don't have to feel like a waste of space." Petunia continued with some actual quality as Automne glared at her in disappointment while Eve rocked back and forth with a large smile. "You're original, can not be replaced. If you only knew what the future holds. After a hurricane comes a rainbow."

_'Hmm she's not half-bad. A whole lot better than you, that's for sure.'_ "... Hey-"

"Mind if I cut in?" Ty called as he jogged up to the stage.

Petunia put her hand over the microphone. "Depends are you better than Automne."

"Of course," Ty said with a chuckle as he jumped onto the stage and joined in on the chorus.

Automne was about to give a sigh until he noticed Eve patiently waiting behind Petunia with a large smile. Automne slowly shuffled over, "You ready to sing the big finish?" Eve noticeably stiffened up as she realized the song was just about over. "Don't worry, if you don't have it we'll all jump in there at once. We got ya'." Automne concluded with a smirk and a thumb up.

Eve blinked a few times, she looked down at the floorboards nervously, and nodded her head, "I'm ready,"

Automne reached over Ty's shoulder and snatched the microphone out of his hand. "Thank you, now here you are Ms. Howlite." He said with a smirk as he placed the microphone in Eve's hands.

Eve cleared her throat once more.

Her voice started off quietly, but it very quickly gained volume and in the moments that followed Automne could swear he felt the world drift away. Eve's voice was a mixture of sweet melodic beauty that flowed through the room like rich warm cream and a simple yet pure reminder about the joys hidden away in their cruel world. As the music quickly drew to a close Automne knew one thing was certain that this simple pub had never heard such beautiful music before now and it may never hear something that beautiful ever again.

Eve took a breath as the song concluded and looked between her friends.

She gave a small giggle, "Well, this was fun."

Automne gave his friends a small smile, "Yes, yes it was… Now let's get out of here before the bartender calls the police."


	6. If you don't have anything nice to say,

Automne let out a deep breath and locked his eyes onto his opponent: a girl wearing a light brown high-collar jacket with a garrison cap sitting snuggly upon her head. Automne drew his weapons and set his left foot forward. The girl was wearing a smug grin as she brandished a long rifle at her waist that Automne couldn't make heads or tails of. It was as if she had reached into one of Oobleck's old history books, pulled out a musket and added a small magazine to it. Possibly the most terrifying feature was the razor sharp, dagger-like bayonet hanging under the barrel and aimed directly at Automne's crotch.

'_Okay dude no need to worry. You've got this in the bag… Probably,'_

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch called out from the side.

Automne took a few tentative steps forward, his left escrima stick extended out towards his opponent, the other held low by his hip.

Automne's confidence was quickly swept away as she moved at him like an unforgiving gale of wind. Her bayonet swept under his wrist, knocking through his defense as she spun backwards into him delivering the butt of her rifle into his jaw. Her hands moved like lightning as she rapidly flipped her rifle over. She took a single step back and shot a round into Automne's chest; sending him flying across the stage until he hit the floor with a thud.

Automne gave an exhausted wheezing noise as he tried to scramble into a seated position. _'My Scroll, check the Scroll!'_ Automne thought in panic. Automne hesitated though as he heard his opponent's boots pounding against the floor as she sprinted towards him.

Automne channeled his semblance and quickly rolled to the side as she jumped at him and impaled her bayonet into the ground.

'Shift weapons!' Automne thought as he jumped backwards onto his feet; regaining visibility and the attention of his opponent. Automne flicked his wrists to release the secondary forms of both his weapons. His opponent was relentless though, she sprang forward, her rifle gripped tightly by the barrel with a single hand as she swung her rifle into Automne's hand; sending his left escrima flying through the air.

Without thought, Automne quickly swung his now fully transformed pistol at the girl. She swiftly evaded, tightly grasped his wrist and pulled her rifle behind Automne pressing the stock against his shoulder.

'Oh Dust, no!' Automne screamed internally as the stock of her rifle pressed into his shoulder with an excruciating amount of force while his wrist was twisted back and smashed against its barrel. Automne could feel the bones and muscles in his shoulder ready to snap and tear if his Aura gave out and he had no doubts that she was willing to do it. Automne gave a low growl as he tried to twist his hand and pistol into a useful position. Automne felt his barrel brush against his opponent's pant leg, but he was quickly whipped out to the right before he could take he could take advantage of the situation.

Automne stumbled and tried to aim his pistol at the girl, but was quickly knocked back by a knee to the chest and a solid blow to the skull from the stock of her rifle.

As Automne fell to the ground, the girl tossed her rifle into the air, making it spin like a cartwheel before it fell back into her arms with a small clatter. A smug smile spread across her lips as she strutted over to Automne, rested the heel of her boot on his crotch and placed the tip of her bayonet under his chin.

"I'd stay down if I were you." She arrogantly mocked as an unsettlingly rapturous smile gleamed down at Automne.

"That'll be enough Ms. Tänzerin. Mr. Noire is unable to continue." Professor Goodwitch interjected as she stepped out onto center stage.

"Of course, Ma'am," The girl replied as she removed her heel from Automne's crotch, rested her rifle against her shoulder and stood at attention.

"Students, let this be a prime example of how panicking under pressure is sure to lead to defeat at the hands of a skilled opponent. Whether it is in the field, or in a duel, it is essential to keep a calm composure when you are under attack." Professor Goodwitch turned slightly to Automne who was now lurched over and breathing heavily. "Mister Noire, I'd suggest that you attempt to be a little more observant next time and keep your defenses up, understood?"

Automne silently nodded his head and pulled his scarf down from around his mouth. "Yes, Professor Goodwitch, I'll work on that." He said breathlessly as he pulled himself off of the ground and onto his feet.

'_This went much better in my head.'_ Automne painfully thought to himself as he stumbled off of the stage and over towards his team. Or at least where he thought his team was.

"Automne, dude, we're over here." Ty called out as Automne began to walk past them.

"Oh," Automne blinked a couple times and pushed his goggles onto his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Right, yeah… sorry, I'm still a bit hazy. From the… thing," Automne slurred as he stumbled over and plopped himself down on the bench between Eve and Petunia.

"Oh dear," Eve said with a frown as she grabbed Automne by the chin and held a flashlight in front of his eyes. "Follow the light, please… I think you might have a concussion." Eve lowered her flashlight and began rummaging through a bag bearing a red cross.

"Well isn't that fantastic. Haven't been here for more than ten days and I already have brain damage."

"In all honesty I thought you had brain damage when I met you." Ty said with a grin as Eve pressed an ice pack against Automne's face, causing him to cringe.

"Sorry," Eve said softly as she removed the ice pack and attempted to apply it with a bit less force.

"Oh haha, I'm dying from laughter," Automne sarcastically slurred at Ty before giving a few more fake laughs which he painfully choked on.

"Please don't," Eve asked politely as she sat down next to Automne. Eve took a few deep breaths and began to slowly create a dense fog that hugged Automne's skin like a soft icy blanket.

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "Oh Dust, Eve, where would we be without you?"

"Beacon Academy," She replied unsurely, a few beads of sweat running down her face while she said it.

"That was a rhetorical question, Eve. Also, you can ease up a bit if you want. I'm feeling a bit better already."

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I have plenty of Aura to spare, so don't worry about me." She said with a weak smile as she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her face.

"If you say so," Automne glanced over at Petunia who was resting her fists on her knees and staring at something in the distance. "Hey Petunia, haven't heard much out of you, what's up?"

"Who does that stuck-up bitch think she is?" Petunia growled as her eyes honed in on Automne's opponent.

Eve gave a large gasp, "Petunia, watch your language please."

"Well I'm just saying what we're all thinking. Did you see that smug little smile she gave to us as she was walking off the stage?"

"I was getting my medical kit ready for Automne." Eve said innocently, raising her large purse like medical bag out in defense.

"Ty, you saw it right?"

"Sorry, but I was too busy laughing at Automne getting his ass kicked." Ty said with a grin as he fiddled through his brand new Scroll. Ty pressed on the screen and a short video of Automne getting clobbered in the chest and face began to play on loop.

"Oh screw you, man" Automne slurred as he leaned over to watch the video.

"It's not my fault you can't hold your own against an opponent. And besides you gotta admit this is kind of funny."

Automne glared at the screen for a few moments before giving a loud chortle. "Okay it kind of is, but you're still a jerk."

Petunia glared back and forth between Automne and Ty before giving a heavy sigh. "You know what, I'm going to go give that uptight- ehm- person a piece of my mind."

"Please don't," Ty said, "You're going to end up making this a team problem and I don't want to deal with this."

"What's that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of her making our team into a joke." Petunia called back as she stood up and made her way across the auditorium towards Automne's opponent and her team.

Ty gave a groan as he slowly stood up, "Why do you people never listen to me?"

"What do you mean by 'you people'?" Automne replied with a grin.

"I follow your orders, Ty." Eve said innocently as she packed up her medical supplies.

Ty just shook his head and followed after Petunia, while Professor Goodwitch called class to a close in the background.

"So Eve, wanna bet Petunia starts herself a gold old fashion brawl and gets us expelled?" Automne added dryly as Eve and he listlessly followed after their leader.

"I'd prefer not to bet on that."

Automne blinked a couple times. "You took that literally, didn't you?"

"… No."

"Remind me to give you sarcasm lessons when you have some free time."Automne said with a smirk and a chuckle.

"Because you'd definitely be the best person to teach me," Eve responded promptly with her own smirk.

Automne blinked a few times as Eve's words registered in his head.

'_Did she just…?'_

"Wait… What?" Automne said blankly in confusion as Petunia's loud, bitter voice came into ear-shot.

"What did you call me?" Petunia shouted at the rifle wielder who was still standing at attention with her rifle down by her side her team now nowhere to be seen.

"I simply said there's no need for me to be arguing with a simple ruffian like you. And honestly with a teammate as weak as that one I think you should feel ashamed."

"Where do you get off?" Petunia continued with a fiery anger in her eyes.

"Hmm, don't you feel a bit too prideful for a member of a team as weak as yours? You're a member of possibly the worst teams to ever walk the halls of this prestigious academy, yet you carry yourself like you are a veteran Huntress. Do you honestly believe you have the right to do so?" The huntress replied with a small proud smile as she stared down at Petunia.

Petunia hesitated for a moment, "Y-you pompous, self-important-"

"That's enough," Ty demanded as he placed a hand on Petunia's shoulder and pulled her back slightly. He whispered something into Petunia's ear and stepped up beside her. "I'm sorry for everything my teammate has said. Let me introduce myself. I'm Tyrian Inuhoozuki, leader of Team Taupe, but you can just call me Ty for short." Ty offered his hand with a guilty smile.

The girl flatly stared at him for a moment. A small polite smile crossed her lips as she shook his hand firmly. "My name is Sienaerde Gewehr- Tänzerin, leader of Team Sepia. It's a pleasure to meet a fellow leader, and let me tell you, your reputation precedes you."

"Really?" Ty blankly replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes, quite a few of us have heard about a local hero joining the ranks here at Beacon. It's just such a shame that your underlings can't live up to your status though."

Ty paused for a moment before an infuriated frown spread across Ty's face. Sienaerde didn't seem to notice though as she continued with her clearly insincere smile. "But I wouldn't worry about your underlings too much. I'm sure a skilled police officer- oh, pardon me – police cadet such as yourself wouldn't let them drag you down. But I believe it goes without saying that a bit of discipline may be in order. May I suggest-"

"I think that will be enough Miss Tänzerin." A handsome man wearing a brown leather trench coat and a wide brimmed hat bent upwards on one side said leniently as he walked up to them from out of the blue. He looked like he was well into his forties, but his neatly trimmed, rich oily black stubble beard could very easily convince Automne he was a much younger man.

"Professor Baula," Sienaerde said quickly as she jumped to attention. "My apologies sir, I was just having a discussion with my fellow leader, Tyrian Inuhoozuki."

"Yes, I can see that. It's just I don't believe you two have much to discuss. So how about you report back to your team." The Professor insisted with a lopsided smile in a very relaxed tone.

Sienaerde glanced at the professor with a bit of doubt. "Yes, Professor," She said hesitantly before lifting her rifle against her shoulder and marching off towards the entrance to the hall.

"Now as for you Ms. Kapelle, I'm just going to say I don't necessarily agree with Ms. Tänzerin's statement, but I do think you could stand to benefit from some humility. Respect is earned, and given your team's current track-record, I think the four of you have not necessarily earned much respect. So I'd suggest you put in some extra effort if you want to be seen as equals to one of the top teams of your class. Oh, and Mr. Inuhoozuki, a leader is only as strong as his weakest link. I'd recommend that you keep your teammates in line if you hold value to your title." Professor Baula gave a light tug on the front of his jacket to reveal a pristine brown button up that clung tightly to his muscular body and took a step backwards. "Mr. Noire, if you don't mind I'd like to sling some clichés to you in private now." He asked with a wry smile as he waved Automne over.

"Umm, of course, Professor," Automne said nervously as he shuffled past his teammates and over towards the Professor.

"This'll only be a few minutes, but you can feel free to leave if you'd like." The Professor explained as he continued to walk backwards alongside Automne.

"Ehm alright, Professor, Automne, we'll catch up with you later." Ty called back as Petunia, Eve, and he all made their way towards the exit.

"Those're some interesting teammates you've got there. Are the four of you well acquainted yet?" The professor asked with a small smile as he finally turned around and began walking normally.

"Not too well. I'm still getting to know them. Since it's only been about a week and all I don't always get that much time and I have homework and-"

Professor Baula began to chuckle a little. "You need to relax young man. I'm not interrogating you. I just want to know how things are going."

"Oh, yeah, things are going… well." Automne replied nervously as they stopped and took a seat near the front row of the stage.

"That's good to hear." The Professor replied happily as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "So, I managed to sit in on your match. I have to say you looked a little… off-guard out there."

"I just… wasn't expecting to fight Sienaerde out there. I've just heard a lot about her."

The Professor glanced over at Automne from the corner of his eye and gave a sigh. "Gossip does seem to travel by word-of-mouth very quickly around here." He gave a chuckle. "Well, that's teenagers for you…. Hmm, I really should be saying young adults. 'Teenagers' just doesn't sound right when referring to young warriors like yourself. When I was here I know I didn't want to be called a teenager. It's so disrespectful… I'm sorry, I'm getting off topic. So about that duel,"

"I just wasn't at the top of my game today Professor. If it were anybody else it would have gone differently." Automne insisted with a forced smile.

Professor Baula was quiet for a few moments before he gave a shrug and reached into his coat. "Whatever you say, Mr. Noire. Oh, and just a friendly reminder, I want your report on Chapter 2 in my inbox by next Tuesday. Also, you dropped this."

Automne turned to see the Professor holding his left escrima stick, Twilight Harmony.

"Oh," Automne said in shock as one hand darted over his weapon's holster. "I forgot about that. Thank you, Professor." Automne grabbed onto his escrima and gave a small tug, but the Professor hadn't loosened his grip.

"Keep your wits about you at all times, Mr. Noire. Losing a duel is one thing, but losing your life is another thing entirely." The professor let go of Automne's weapon and slowly stood up. "And just one more thing; keep an eye on your teammates. They seem very… bold; you might learn a thing or two. Have a nice day Mr. Noire, and remember; keep your wits about you." The Professor concluded with a smile as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and slowly walked out of the auditorium.

Automne watched the Professor walk out past the threshold and when he was gone turned back to the stage where Sienaerde had wiped the floor with him not too long ago. Automne gave a heavy sigh his voice echoing off the large, dim walls around him. Automne looked down at the escrima stick still in his hand, grimaced and looked back up at the stage.

"My head hurts."

* * *

**I feel like this one is necessary Sienaerde Gewehr- Tänzerin (Zee-enna-airduh Guh-ver Tan-zer-in) So basically the only part that sounds similar to how it's spelled is the last part. I also feel the need to apologize just for thinking of this name, but trying to break it down was punishment on its own.**

**If you like the story favorite and/or follow it maybe. And no matter what you think leave a review. Once again thank you to my editor NinjaSlayer4x. There will be more very soon so stay tuned, but until then Peace out.**

**-CS**


	7. Then don't say anything at all

Petunia gave an irate sigh and slammed her head against the table as Ty glared at a sandwich distastefully.

"Don't do that, Petunia." Ty said tiredly, not even attempting to take his eyes off the sandwich.

"Piss off," She mumbled, her head still glued to the table.

Ty pounded his fist against the table. "That's it, go run a lap around campus."

"Wow, they really got you bent out of shape. What's next, a hundred push-ups?" Petunia asked sarcastically as she brushed her face across the table in defiance.

"You know the majority of that was aimed at you and they weren't exactly wrong."

Petunia's head jumped off the table with a single eyebrow raised so high Ty thought it could fly off and hit somebody in the face. "We doin' this? This goin' down? This happening? We could go right here if you want. 'Cause I can take you down. Downtown with a clown." She said with an odd amount of emphasis on the word clown.

"Hey, you're clearly the one with the problem here and I don't think any of us have to be weighed down with your issues." Ty furrowed his brow, lifted his sandwich and took a bite out of it. He chewed for a second and then gave it a furious glare. "This isn't tuna! This is Ham!" Ty said furiously as he tossed the sandwich back onto the plate.

"Then maybe you should've grabbed yourself a tuna sandwich."

"Well the ham sandwich was all dressed up like it was a tuna sandwich. Gah, and I was in the mood for eating tuna." Ty said bitterly as he pushed the sandwich away.

"Well I was to, but all the ones that were left looked like they had a bunch of hair on them."

"Eh, gross. Actually, you know what good. I'm glad that you don't get any good tuna."

"Oh, screw you, jerk."

"Please don't fight." Eve asked politely as she pushed around a few leaves of her salad.

"We wouldn't be fighting if she'd just act a little more mature and take responsibility for what she did."

"Well gee, when you put it like that I almost feel like I have to apologize just so you can save face." Petunia replied with a scowl.

"You know what-"

"Hey guys, sorry I was gone for so long." Automne said with a frown as he walked up to the table.

"Where have you been?" Ty asked indignantly as Automne sat down between Eve and him with a plate of salad in his hands.

"I had to toss the lunch lady's salad." Automne replied casually as he placed his fork next to the plate.

"Why were you tossing the lunch lady's salad?" Ty asked with curiously.

"It turns out they ran out and one of the lunch ladies is out sick so I had to toss it for her. Let me tell you she was really rude about it. Kept telling me to toss it harder and really get in there, and when she said I was done she didn't even thank me. She just went outside for a smoke. That's the last time I toss that lady's salad."

"That's kind of selfish on your part, man. You gotta give in sometimes and just toss some salad." Petunia replied curtly as she crossed her arms and slumped over on the table.

"I would agree with Petunia, but she's being thick right now so I'm not going to. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go get some new food to replace this crappy old sandwich."

"Oh, Ty, you don't have to do that." Eve said politely as she reached over towards her bag. "I always carry a banana around with me in case I get a little peckish." Eve said happily as she pulled out a large ripe banana.

"Oh, thanks Eve, but I've never really been into bananas."

"Okay, but if you want I'll show you an easy trick for how to eat them. First you start by licking the-"

"Hey, look a note." Automne interrupted as he reached across the table to pick up a neatly folded piece of paper.

"What does it say?" Ty asked curiously as Automne looked over it.

"All it says is 'Hahaha I couldn't resist. Sorry, I'm a horrible person.' Jeez the guy who wrote this sounds like a real idiot."

"Yeah," Petunia confirmed "A really unfunny, pretentious, socially awkward, weirdo."

"Yeah, and he seems like the kind of moron who doesn't know how to properly punctuate a sentence." Ty added as he took the note and shook his head.

"And he sounds like a really crude and insensitive person." Eve continued shyly, shaking her head in disgust.

"You said it. What a loser." Automne finished as he took a sip of his milk and tossed the note emblazoned with a large CS to the side. "Now, what were we talking about?"

Everyone paused for a moment or two.

Eve snapped her fingers, "I remember, Ty and Petunia were arguing about what Professor Baula said to us."

"Seriously, guys that's stupid." Automne said calmly as he scooped some salad into his mouth.

"Oh yeah, well I'd love to hear your perspective on the subject." Petunia said in her most unapologetically sarcastic reply yet.

"Both of you suck." Automne said flatly.

"Says the guy who Sienaerde wiped the floor with,"

"Yeah dude, she wrecked you; R-E-K-T. You got rekt boy!" Petunia and Ty respectively shouted in protest. The two of them then proceeded to deliver a laundry-list of insults and jeers seemingly without end while Automne patiently waited for them to calm down.

So after about a minute or five when Ty and Petunia were done recalling just how greatly Automne had failed in his fight Automne gave a sigh.

"Are you-"

"You couldn't even walk straight afterwards. That's how bad she wasted you, ya' scrub." Petunia belted out as Automne just stared at her.

"Alright well, I'm just going to be short here and-"

"Short like that fight. Seriously, you didn't even land a hit."

"Shut up, just shut up. Both of you shut up. Look, I'm trying to be fair here. Ty you under reacted. Petunia's problems are our problems, dude, no matter how absolutely stupid they are. And Petunia, chill, seriously is that too much to ask? Everyone around here knows we suck so there's no point in throwing a fit about some stuck-up sociopath who looks at us funny."

"We do not suck!" Petunia yelled at Automne causing quite a few other people in the cafeteria to turn towards them in surprise.

"Petunia," Eve replied quietly, breaking the silence that had quickly swept over them. "Use your indoor voice, please."

Petunia stood up and pulled her aviators out of her jacket. "We've all worked to get here; to be a part of this. We may not be the best here, but I for one worked day in and day out to be here. I'm going to go hit the range before class. I'll catch up with you guys later."

The rest of the team remained completely silent as they watched Petunia walk away with her head hung low.

Automne turned and looked at his fellow teammates for a few moments, a broad frown stretched across his lips. "Honestly I expected this to go much better."

Ty gave a heavy sigh, "Automne, dude-"

"I'm just saying these things usually end with a bit of teasing and a good laugh. Just saying,"

"Automne, let's not talk about this now. Petunia and I will discuss this later." Ty gave a sigh and began to pick apart his sandwich. "So what did Professor Baula want to talk to you about?"

Automne cleared his throat and poked at his salad. "It wasn't anything important: just some motivational stuff and something about an essay."

"Huh, doesn't really seem like he'd need to pull you aside for that."

"Well… he did so, yeah. Anyways who knows why, Professors can be weird. I mean seriously have you seen Oobleck."

Eve gave a small giggle, "Professor Oobleck's hair makes me laugh." She said with a small innocent smile. "Ty do you have any classes with Professor Baula?"

"No, that was actually my first time meeting him. Is he usually like that in his classes?" Ty asked curiously as he leaned forward on the table a bit.

"Yeah, he's a pretty relaxed person."

"Oh, and I've heard quite a bit about him too." Automne added in enthusiastically. "I've heard that he's a very skilled and intelligent Hunter and he's a big hit with the ladies, because he's so yummy and ehm…"

Automne stopped abruptly as he was met with a pair of surprised stares from his teammates.

"Automne," Eve started with a sense of absolute confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean by 'yummy'?"

"I meant to say handsome! Handsome is obviously what I meant to say." Automne gave some obviously forced nervous laughter and looked back and forth between the pair of them with a look that read 'I'm lying and I have no way to get out of this.'

"Well, this is definitely going on the list of things I wish I hadn't heard." Ty said casually as he stood up and swung his legs over the bench.

"Guys, seriously it was just a slip of the tongue. Like when you try and say- ehm breakfast but you mean brunch. It's a common thing. It happens all the time. Ahaha hasn't that ever happened to you guys? Ty?" Ty just stared at Automne with a raised eyebrow. "Yes? That looks like a yes to me."

"Uh huh, well I'm going to go talk to Petunia. I'm sure you two have quite a lot to talk about right now."

"What, no we don't. There's nothing to talk about. There's never anything to talk about. Communication is just a myth!" Automne shouted out hysterically as Ty walked away.

"BANG," Petunia's gunshot rang off the walls of the range as she shattered a clay pigeon into bits and pieces. The shell of her round ejected from the chamber and gave a small clatter as it fell onto the table of her booth. The machine down at the end of the range gave three clicks and hurled a few more targets into the air which she rapidly and systematically destroyed with ease. The targets were nothing, but clouds of orange dust as she pulled the forend of her gun back with a loud click.

Petunia gave a sigh and pressed a large red button to her left. "How long have you been standing there?"

"A couple minutes at the most." Ty replied calmly, standing a few yards behind her with a large pair of headphones over his ears. "You should really be wearing headphones." he replied casually as Petunia glanced over her shoulder at him. Her orange aviators shimmering lightly as she reloaded her weapon.

"There would literally be no point." She replied with a large grin as she moved her hand into her jacket and pulled out a large hearing aid. "I was messing around with some explosive ammunition a couple years back and now I'm just about deaf. And the answer is lip-reading if you were wondering." She placed the ear piece onto the table of here booth and continued to reload her shotgun while looking back over her shoulder.

"Sorry to ruin the surprise, but I've known for over a week. I saw them the first day we met actually. Just didn't say anything, because you were obviously hiding it." He replied with a proud smile as he leaned against the wall behind him.

"Well how very gentlemanly of you. Now, how about you be a true gentleman and get me another box of ammo." Petunia snidely replied as she held out her box of "Schnee brand Shotgun Ammunition", held it upside down and shook it a bit.

"Maybe in a bit, but first I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier."

Petunia gave a heavy sigh and slouched back against the wall; her shotgun dangling lazily by her side."If this is gonna be one of those 'you apologize for what you did and you say you were wrong and I apologize for what I did and I say I was wrong things', then let's skip it. Automne was right; I overreacted a bit and made it a team thing. I'm sorry," Petunia said in an absolutely lackadaisical tone as she went into a low bow. "So now you do your-"

"Actually I came down here to hear you say you were wrong." Ty responded with a smug smile.

Petunia glared at Ty, who was giving an obnoxiously happy stare back to her, for a moment or two before raising her shotgun and shooting him in the chest. Ty slammed backwards into the wall and fell to the floor with a thud.

"Apology accepted," Petunia replied happily as she turned back around to her booth and tossed the empty box onto the floor.

"Ahh," Ty garbled as he clutched at his chest. "Bitch." A rather irate Ty stated as he got back onto his feet.

"Sticks and stones, bruh. Now how about you sit back and watch me nail these next nine targets and after I'll go buy you a soda."

Ty gave a groan, "You're fired,"

"Yeah, whatever, anything else you have to say before I start?"

Ty rubbed at the back of his head. "Hmm, well I was watching you shoot earlier and I have to say you are a fantastic shot. And I think I know a way you can improve your accuracy even more." Ty began to make his way over to Petunia. "Here let me show you a stance-"

"Touch me and I kill you in your sleep."Petunia responded with hostility, causing Ty to stop dead in his tracks.

"Okay, jeez, just trying to be helpful." Ty insisted with his hands raised defensively.

Petunia gave a chuckle and turned around, "If it makes you feel better you're nowhere as bad as Automne. He's always staring at me when he thinks I'm not looking. It's starting to creep me out."

A clay pigeon suddenly shot out of a hole in the wall and was almost immediately shot down.

"Hey," Petunia shouted before another pigeon was released and promptly shot down. "Let's go beat the crap out of Automne after dinner."


	8. Make sure to get plenty of rest

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuh," Automne groaned out of pure boredom as he stared up at the ceiling of his dorm. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh," he added as he rolled around on his bed. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuh," he repeated in despair as he rolled off his bed and began to roll across the room like a stupid, noisy log. "Uuu-"

"Automne," Eve's soft voice said suddenly as he passed under a thick red curtain attached to a rail on the ceiling.

"Yes?" Automne replied nervously as he stared up at the railing and wondered if they should have gotten permission from the school before installing it.

"Can you please be a little quieter?"

"Sorry," Automne replied with a guilty smile as he wriggled his way across the floor, raised his head up like a snake and rested his chin on Petunia's bed to see Eve huddled on the center of her bed, surrounded by multiple stacks of books and papers. She was diligently thumbing her way through a pair of textbooks and underlining the occasional excerpt with a neon pink highlighter. "I guess you're busy right now?"

"Mhmm, I have an exam on Monday and I need to get in two hours and thirty-five more minutes of studying."

Automne blinked few times as she highlighted another line in her book then glanced over at a pocket watch. "That's weird, you're weird." Automne threw his head off of the bed and floundered about on the floor like a carp.

"It is not weird to be prepared for an exam." Eve replied in a slightly offended tone. "Besides the plot's probably going to be starting soon so we should really get a head start on our schoolwork."

"The plot," Automne muttered in confusion as he pulled himself across the floor like an inchworm. "Oh yeah, I forgot we had one of those. Well, I'm sure it's going to suck, so there's really no need to waste a good Friday night studying for… What are you studying for?"

"Emergency bone resetting in the field,"

"How do you even study for that?"

"Well, right now I'm just going over the procedures, but I do need to do a bit more practice on-"

"No," Automne said flatly as he stopped inching across the floor.

"But, I haven't even asked you yet."

"I know, but even if you did the answer'd be no."

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it. Now, can you please quiet down I only have about twenty minutes left to work before I have to get ready for bed." Eve said with a small, glum frown as she stuffed her face into one of her books.

"Get ready for bed? It's barely gonna be eight-thirty… and it's Friday." Automne pushed himself off the floor and jumped onto Petunia's bed. "Who goes to bed at –eight-thirty plus twenty minutes–" Automne muttered to himself as Eve tried to focus on her book. "That's about nine... You go to bed at nine on a weekend?!"

"Well, technically Friday's a weekday."

"No it isn't, don't say that. Nothing has ever been accomplished on a Friday. Friday is basically the first day of the weekend."

"A-alright," Eve said hesitantly as her eyes darted back and forth between Automne and her pocket watch. "Well, even if it is the first day of the weekend a responsible person needs to get eight hours of sleep every night. Now, may I-"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, eight hours of sleep every night? That's ridiculous. What about when you have to pull an all nighter to study for a big exam in the morning?" Automne questioned in disbelief as he grabbed Petunia's pillow and held it against himself (a bit too) tightly.

Eve set her book aside and raised her eyebrows in befuddlement. "How would staying up all night help you? Good rest and proper study habits lead to good grades, not all night study sessions."

"Hold the phone." Automne stated in shock as he creepily rubbed Petunia's pillow against his cheek.

"We don't have a pho-"

"Figure of speech, now, Eve are you telling me you've never pulled an all nighter?!"

Eve looked back and forth in confusion. "Weren't we talking about study-"

"Have you ever pulled an all nighter?!" Automne anxiously persisted, tossing aside Petunia's pillow and jumping to his feet.

"No, I've never pulled an all nighter!" Eve yelped in fear as she flinched back into a stack of papers, knocking them off the bed.

Automne gave a gasp and straightened like a plank. "Eve," He started calmly.

"Y-yes,"

"Do you know what this means?"

Eve glanced over at her stack of papers which were still slowly sliding off the bed. "Does it mean I can go back to studying?"

"No,"

"Oh," Eve moaned in disappointment as Automne stood blankly in front of her bed.

"Eve," Automne said with soft pride as he reanimated himself and looked down at the dark haired girl. "By all the Dust in the quarries, you and I are going to pull the greatest all nighter of all time."

There was a brief pause.

"Automne, as… interesting as that sounds I think I'll have to pa-"

"Too bad, you're going to have fun. Now, get your shoes on and meet me up on the fourth floor in ten minutes. Oh and make sure to bring your Starlight Marionette." Automne demanded cheerfully as he rushed towards the door.

"Wait, Automne, I don't want to stay up all night." Eve clasped her gloved hands together and pleaded as Automne grabbed the doorknob.

Automne gave a groan and leaned backwards hanging off the door by one hand. The dreaded thought of having to reason with her arose in his mind, but then he paused for a moment as an idea drifted to the center of his mind. A large smirk crossed his lips. "Alright… fine then, if you don't want to stay up all night, how about a party? Ya'know like one of those little parties you have on… Wednesdays."

Eve gave a large gasp, fear slowly crawling into her eyes. "How do you know about those?!"

"Oh, I just tend to see a lot of things." Automne gave a giant, amused smirk and pulled his goggles down over his eyes. "Now, meet me up on the fourth floor in ten minutes, or else I'll tell Ty and Petunia all about your little parties." Automne's grin practically painted across his face as he pulled the door open and accidentally slammed it into his face. "I'm good, totally fine." He muttered through gritted teeth as he fumbled out of the room.

Eve gave a heavy sigh and closed her textbook.

* * *

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to think you weren't going to show." Automne said with a large smile as Eve made her way up the stairwell with her Naginata in hand.

"Yeah, I'm here." Eve said miserably as she avoided eye contact with Automne.

Automne's smile quickly faded as she joined him in the dimly lit hallway; they stood in silence. He gave a sigh, "Alright, I won't tell Ty or Petunia under any circumstances about your little Wednesday happy hour. But come on, you wouldn't even have agreed to come up here if I didn't persuade you."

"You blackmailed me."

"You say Blackmail, I say persuade, but Eve, as your friend... we're still friends right?"

"Yes, of course-"

"Awesome," Automne said with a genuinely pleased smile as he backed out of the stairwell and into the hallway. " So, as your friend I assure you that tonight you will have the most fun you have ever had. I bet my scarf on that." Automne closed his eyes and ran his hand down the length of his scarf while Eve watched him in awkward silence.

"Well, alright then, I guess I'll try and have fun." Eve gave a forced smile and glanced up and down the hallway. "Sooooo, what are we doing up here?"

"Oh right," Automne said in a very dazed tone as he stopped stroking his scarf. "Well, I thought we should start off the night with something big, so I went down to my locker and grabbed us one of these." Automne said proudly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a paint grenade.

"Uh, why do we need a paint grenade?"

"Because my long-haired little busybody, we're going to pull a prank."

"A prank… on whom?" Eve held her weapon tightly as she looked back down the hall of doors behind Automne.

Automne began to walk backwards with a sly smirk on his face. He unnervingly gestured with a single hand for Eve to follow. "You see Eve, I've had just about enough of Sienaerde and all her smug 'I'm so much better than all of you'-ness. So after a bit of stalk- I mean snooping I've deduced that this is her team's dorm room." Automne concluded with a chuckle as he came to a stop in front of one of the doors.

Eve looked at Automne, skepticism heavy in her eyes. "Automne don't you think instead of making mean spirited pranks we should just talk to them and openly express our dissatisfaction with their behavior?"

Automne stared at Eve flatly, "You are such a killjoy."

"I am not."

"Are too,"

"Am not,"

"Are too,"

"I am not."

Automne pounded on the door and tossed the grenade to Eve. "Prove it." Automne said with a smirk before disappearing into thin air.

Eve stared down at the grenade resting in her palms. Her heart began to echo loudly in her ears as the door to the room gave an ominous click and slowly began to creep open. Eve took a deep breath, bit down on her lip and pulled the pin from the grenade with a satisfying snap.

The door to the room swung wide open to reveal a girl with long blonde hair and lavender colored eyes.

Eve didn't spare her a second thought, she simply tossed the grenade forward into the girls black gloved hands.

"Oh crap!" Automne's disembodied voice called out as the door to the room was hastily slammed shut.

Confusion and panic swept through Eve as she quickly came to her senses. Her eyes darted to Automne, who had suddenly blurred back into visibility; both of his hands were clamped to the door knob.

"Eve, this is the wrong room!" Automne shouted as a muffled explosion rang through the door. "Run!"

Eve sprang backwards and sprinted down the hall. The sound of loud banging and shouting filled the hall behind her as Automne tried to hold the door shut as long as he could. Eve's heart was racing faster than a bullet train as she swerved into the stairwell and leapt down the steps as fast as she could. Her weapon was bouncing against her wildly as a ferocious roar rang out from the halls above. Eve didn't dare look back in fear that she would come eye to eye with whoever she had just ticked off.

"Why did I let Automne get me into this?" Eve whined to herself as she reached the bottom floor of the dorm building and ran through the large double-door exit. Eve looked around quickly and gave a desperate groan as she looked out at a deserted lawn, scarcely illuminated by a few lampposts.

As Eve considered running across the grass and hiding behind a distant trash can a ravenous voice pierced the stone walls of the building behind her.

"When I find you I'm going to beat you senseless!"

Eve gave a small yelp and dove head first into a large bush sitting right outside the entrance to the dorm while clutching onto her weapon tightly. She suppressed the urge to groan in discomfort as mud and dried out branches covered her jacket and poked at her face. She rolled over as quietly as she possibly could just in time to see the doors to the dormitory blast open; small wafts of fire blowing outwards from the doorway as the blonde girl emerged. Eve clenched her teeth in fear as the paint soaked girl ran forward across the stone walkway, turned a couple of times and bolted off in one direction.

Eve held her breath for a few moments. She slowly raised a single hand to try and push some of the bush out of the way to gain a better view of where the girl had run off to. She quickly turned in a panic though as the doors to the dorm were slowly pushed open. Eve paused in suspense as she waited to see who else was leaving the dorms, but was surprised to see absolutely no one emerge.

"Eve," a familiar voice called out in a hushed voice. "Eve, are you out here?"

"Automne, is that you?"

"No, it's the other person at this school who can turn invisible." Automne's voice replied sarcastically as some unseen force pushed the bush to the side. Automne quickly faded into visibility with a relieved smile glued to his lips. "Why are you hiding in the bushes?" He extended his hand.

Eve puffed out her cheeks and extended her Naginata out towards Automne in place of her hand. "I'm in the bushes because you tricked me into being your patsy." Eve said bitterly as Automne reached out and took a hold of the shaft.

Automne rolled his eyes and shook his head a bit. "You were not going to be my patsy. I just wanted you to do something a bit –wild!" The last part said through a heavy grunt as Automne gave Eve's weapon a hefty tug and pulled her out of the bushes.

"W-well why were you shadow walking? You made it look like I was the only one there." Eve said defensively as she rested Starlight Marionette against her shoulder.

"Because one of us needed to slam the door shut after we threw the grenade and since I'm the one with the invisibility," Automne gestured up and down his body. "That one is kind of a no-brainer."

"Well," Eve looked down at the front of her jacket which was lightly soiled with mud. "My jacket is-"

"I'll do the laundry tomorrow. Are you finished?"

Eve paused for a few seconds and gave a sigh, "Yes,"

"Alright then, now it's time for phase two of 'Black and White All-night Friendship Adventure'." Automne said, beaming brightly as he unzipped a pocket on his vest and began rummaging through it.

Eve gave a small giggle. "That name is kind of silly."

"So are you. Now, let's get this show on the road." Automne whipped out a long cylindrical piece of plastic from his pouch, gave it a small shake, and bent it down the middle causing it to glow a fluorescent green.

Eve gave a large gasp and put her hands to her mouth. "Are we going to the disco-tech?"

"What? No… No we're not going to the disco-tech." Automne said with complete bewilderment.

"Oh," Eve looked around a bit. "So, what are we going to do?"

Automne gave a small chuckle, "Just follow me, Eve, and you shall see. Also I think we should move fast because I think that blonde chick is coming back."

Automne gestured for Eve to follow and they were headed off across the campus with the fear of impending death behind them.

As they made their way across the large empty campus faintly illuminated by lamps Eve couldn't help but shiver as a few shadows seemed to sway ominously in the distance. The large buildings constructed of smooth solid stone towered above them and cast long eerie shadows as they trekked across the empty campus. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes past nine, but the campus felt like another ancient ruin that had fallen at the unyielding force of the Grimm.

"Hey Automne," Eve said nervously, her weapon at the ready as they passed strangely dark sections of the campus. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to go tell ghost stories in the woods." Automne said with a strange amount of glee as they walked past a shrub which Eve could have sworn blinked at her.

"Wait what?!" skepticism heavy in Eve's voice as she stopped dead in her tracks and lowered her weapon.

"Well yeah, no night out is complete without some scary ghost stories in a creepy place." Automne replied as if he had no idea where they were.

Eve just stared at him in sheer disbelief as he jauntily walked towards the edge of the forest. "Wait, Automne, what about Grimm?!" Eve called out as she ran after him. "The Grimm are attracted to fear. If we start telling ghost stories we might end up attracting Grimm. And it's forty percent more likely that you can suffer from an injury in a night time encounter with Grimm."

"Shhhhhhh," Automne stressed with a single finger as he calmly walked closer to the edge of the forest. "Eve, we won't encounter any Grimm if we just stay calm and collected. Also my goggles have night vision in them. So, there's no need to worry about an encounter because I'm so trained for this I feel confident enough to walk into that forest bare foot." Automne stooped down low and removed his moccasins and socks as Eve watched him in shock.

"Automne, this is a bad idea. I don't think this can end well. Let's just go back to the dorm and-"

"Chicken,"

Eve blinked a couple times and furrowed her brow. "Alright then, let's go tell some ghost stories."

Automne pulled his goggles down over his eyes and pushed a button on the side causing them to glow an almost blinding yellow. "Alright then," He gave Eve a confident smirk and walked off into the forest.

"Holy mother of all that is decent! Okay, okay I'm fine I just stepped on a- Sweet fluffy pink bunny slippers! Ow ow ow that was glass, sharp glass, but I think I'm- Overcooked cream dumpling trash bag!" Automne shouted in distress as he fell to the forest floor. "Man down, I repeat man down!" He shouted in pain as he flailed about on the very edge of the forest as Eve watched from about five feet back.

"Do you want to go back to the dorm?" Eve said with a very concerned tone as Automne rolled around on the ground in agony.

Automne stopped rolling and laid face down in the dirt. He raised one of his arms up into the air. "I have a better idea!" Automne tried to push himself off the ground, but immediately fell back into the dirt. "Eve, would you mind?"

Eve gave a heavy sigh, clasped her hands together and began to produce a thick mist.

"Ahhh," Automne sighed with content. "Now, on to phase three!"

"Hey, what are you two doing out past curfew!" A guard with a flashlight hollered.

"Run, Eve, run!" Automne shouted as he sprang to his feet.

* * *

"Alright, Eve keep your eyes covered just a bit longer." Automne said with a smile as he rummaged through a closet on the other side of the student lounge.

"I still don't understand why I have to keep them closed." Eve muttered to herself as she sat on a blue suede lounge sofa with both her gloved hands covering her glasses.

Eve hadn't been in the student lounge before, but from what she saw – that is what she saw before Automne made her cover her eyes – she had to say it looked pretty cozy. From the room's cool lounge couches and coffee table set around a large television monitor to the contemporary leather chairs placed near the windows it just emanated a certain kind of serenity that Eve couldn't help but fall for.

"Automne, how often do you come up here?" Eve asked as she imagined falling backwards onto the couch and rubbing her cheek against its smooth soft fabric.

"Eh, not very often; I tend to keep to myself when I come up here."

"Oh… Oooh how about we bring the Ty and Petunia up here? We can relax up here, talk, and maybe watch some movies. Doesn't that sound-"

A loud thump on the table in front of her brought Eve's suggestions to a stop.

"Eh," Automne moaned tentatively. "I'll consider it, but first check this out; open your eyes."

Eve lifted her hands off of her glasses and looked down at a large, thick, black and white piece of plastic. She blinked a few times and looked all around it while remaining seated with her hands resting on her thighs. "What is it?"

Automne gave a loud sigh, "Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting. This Eve is the finest piece of hardware in gaming entertainment. The one console that outperforms all others in its field in every category. It is sleek, it is stylish, it is… The XStationU!" Automne finished with a bit too much flair as he flailed his hands back and forth over the chunk of plastic.

"The XStationU… Doesn't that name seem kind of," Eve paused for a moment as she stared down at the box. "Eclectic?"

"Yeah, I guess the name is kind of stupid, but at least it keeps the fan boys at bay. I mean seriously when it comes to no-life losers who obsess over overpriced, overhyped pieces of plastic that are meant to be used as entertainment devices these guys are not the guys you want to upset… or talk to in public. Now, let's fire this bad boy up and play some good old fashioned 'Horns'."

"What's 'Horns'?"

"It's basically 'Halo', but the name's been changed to avoid copyright laws." The moron paused for a moment after he realized what he had just said. "Oh Dust damn it. Well, I guess it doesn't matter now, let's play."

"But I've never played before."

"Don't worry, we'll start out on match between the two of us. You can learn from that."

"Wait a minute, shouldn't I practice before we-"

"Oh no no no," Automne silenced the frazzled girl with a huge devious smirk as he handed her a controller and turned on the console. "Eve, the best way to learn through video games is through repetition. So, the most logical way for you to learn how to play is by dying a lot."

"But, wait, I don't want to die a lot." Eve whimpered with an almost droll pout.

"Good, then you'll want to learn fast." Automne said with an almost cruel amount of glee as he pressed a button to start the game.

* * *

"Oh come on!" Automne shouted at the top of his lungs as Eve blew his character away with a rocket.

"Running riot!" The game proclaimed as Eve bounced up and down happily on the sofa.

Automne gave a grunt and fell backwards into the sofa. "I hate this game." He muttered bitterly to himself as he tried to move his character towards a hidden sniper rifle.

"I thought you said this was your favorite game." Eve asked politely, her eyes locked on the screen.

"Well, it isn't." He replied before he was directly hit with another rocket. Automne grit his teeth, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets as he gave a loud grunt. He quickly raised his controller above his head as if he were going to throw it across the room, but slowly lowered it instead. He took a deep breath and reclined back on the sofa again. "I'm not mad,"

"Why would you be mad?"

"I said I'm not mad."

"I know, but I'm just asking why you would be mad."

"Well, there's no reason for you to ask if I'm mad because I'm not mad."

"Alright, I'm just checking because you seem mad."

"Well, I'm not mad and you asking me if I'm mad makes me mad."

"I'm sorry; I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Well, I'm alright so you don't need to ask if I'm alright because I was already alright."

"Alright then…" Eve said tentatively as she went back to playing.

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "… Alright…"

"…"

"…"

"Are you mad?"

"Alright, that's enough made up console! Let's move on to stage whatever."

"Awww but we've only just started."

"Eve, it's one in the morning." Automne replied flatly as he pulled back his sleeve to look at his watch.

"B-But, wait… we've been playing for three hours?!"

"Actually it's almost two so it's actually closer to four hours." Automne continued as he began to unplug the XStationU and carry it back to the closet.

Eve plunged her hand into her jacket and pulled out her pocket watch. Uneasiness washed over her face as she looked down at its face. "I've never been up this early before. I think the fatigue is-"

"No!" Automne shouted as he threw a punch right in front of Eve's face causing her to grab his wrist and throw him to the floor.

"Oh my gosh; why did you do that?"

"I'm trying to keep you awake. Now enough talking let's go down to the kitchen."

"Can you at least tell me why this time?"

Automne gave a groan as he rolled over onto his back. "No, secrecy lends to fun."

Eve paused for a moment and stared down at Automne who was beginning to peel himself off the floor. "That doesn't make sense."

"Well, then you clearly just don't understand the way of a ninja." He stated with a sense of pride as he set off for the door only stopping briefly to collect his weapons from a bin set near the entrance.

Eve gave a small chuckle as she grabbed her weapon and followed after him.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I just find it kind of funny that you call yourself a ninja." Eve said with an innocent smile as they made their way down a dark hallway.

"What do you mean funny? I've trained very hard to become one of the world's most elite types of warrior."

"Oh… Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were being serious."

Automne stopped abruptly, a morose frown now spread across his lips. "W-why would I be joking?"

"Oh, umm no it's not that I don't think you're a ninja; it's just that you," Eve glanced around, tugging at her collar as she sought out the words. "You never, umm, act like a ninja." She said weakly as she crossed her legs and began to fiddle with a couple strands of her hair.

"What do you mean act like a ninja? I'm wearing all black."

"And yellow… and brown, and you have a big scarf."

"Well… the yellow is for surprising them. If it's the middle of the night you don't expect to see a bunch of bright yellow. It's surprising." Automne pleaded as if he were trying to convince himself about his clothing choices.

"I suppose so,"

"And what about my weapons," Automne drew both of his escrima sticks and held them out for Eve to examine. "These are basically ninja weapons. I got the sticks and the short sword and the… okay the gun isn't really traditional, but it's got the suppressor and that makes it stealthy. And that's what being a ninja's about; being stealthy."

"Well, you do tend to pass out a lot during training. And you fainted during our morning jog yesterday."

Automne gave some forced nervous laughter as Eve watched with guilty eyes. "Well, of course I fainted; ninja's aren't about endurance, we're about stealth. And I'm all about stealth. Look, stealth is basically my semblance," Automne said spastically as he flickered in and out of visibility.

"W-well," Automne looked at Eve with an almost soul-crushingly miserable stare. "Well, I feel a bit silly for not noticing all of that sooner. Yep I see it all now, you got your scarf and your weapons and your semblance really brings it all together. I guess I'm just a bit absent-minded sometimes." Eve said with a big fake smile.

Automne gave a sigh, "Thanks, Eve." He said solemnly before he turned and continued to walk over to the student kitchen.

Eve gave a disappointed groan, "Dang it, Eve." She mumbled to herself before running off after Automne. "Wait, Automne!" she called out as she ran into the pitch black kitchen. She began to look for a light switch when a sudden rush of cold crept through the air.

Eve quickly stepped away from the entrance of the room with her weapon at the ready. "Automne," Eve murmured as she backed into the center of the room with her weapon drawn. A quick draft of wind swished through her hair.

Eve quickly turned and set her gaze on a pair of red eyes. She tightened her grip on her weapon and loosened her shoulders. "Automne, where are you?" Eve asked nervously as she held her eyes on the set of blood red dots hovering in inky blackness. "Automne," She repeated one final time before raising the long shaft of her weapon, but before she could plunge its blade forward into the Grimm an object as cold as ice pressed up against her cheek. Eve quickly swung her weapon around to stab into this new unseen threat and was immediately smacked in the face with a cold, circular object that smelled and tasted a lot like banana.

"And that Eve is why you don't insult a ninja." Automne's voice boasted happily as he walked over to the light switch and illuminated the kitchen. Eve was frozen in the center of the kitchen with her weapon raised and a large pie pan stuck to her face, large amounts of whipped cream falling off onto the ground as she stood there in silence.

Automne gave Eve a large grin as he merrily strolled over to a wooden table and pulled out a chair. Automne flinched when Eve spontaneously dropped her weapon to the ground with a loud clatter, but continued to watch in amusement as she slowly raised her hands up to the pie tin.

"Need any help with that?" he asked casually as he swirled around a frost covered glass bottle around in the air. Eve seemed to ignore him though as she pulled the tin off with a loud suction cup like _pop_. Automne set his bottle down on the table, walked over to Eve who was still holding the pie tin, and ran his finger over her glasses which were absolutely caked in banana cream pie. Automne slowly began to lap the pie from his finger as Eve looked out at him from behind the lenses.

"Don't worry," Automne said with an extremely obvious amount of delight. "We're even now."

Eve calmly removed her glasses to reveal her soft periwinkle eyes staring out at her borderline abusive best friend. She cast a small glance over to where the red eyes of a Grimm were resting earlier and was only met with a pair of solid red lights shining off from a blender. Eve tensed up as Automne ran his finger over her cheek and got himself another finger of pie.

Eve shut her eyes, "Can you please stop licking your finger?" Eve said in her most offended tone, which caused Automne to stop mid-lick and pluck the pie tin from Eve's hands.

"I'm just enjoying the pie. Now, do you want me to grab you a paper towel or a fork; because honestly this pie isn't half bad."

"A towel, please."Her unnaturally sweet voice asked in what was supposed to be a bitter tone as Automne began to wipe pie off the sides of the tin.

"You know what one of my favorite things about you is? Your tone, you're always so upbeat." Automne chimed as he walked over to the counter and grabbed a roll of paper towels. "Like no matter what we do or what I do to you, you never get mad." Automne rambled as he walked back over to Eve who was still standing in the same place with her arms down by her side. He slowly ushered Eve over to the chair he had previously occupied and sat her down. "I could never imagine Ty or Petunia putting up with stuff like this, but you always kinda just brush it off." Automne tore off a few sheets from the roll and passed them to Eve who was quietly sitting in her chair. Automne quickly took Eve's glasses and walked over to the kitchen sink. Automne flipped on the faucet and soaked the corner of his sleeve.

Automne gently began to rub his sleeve over Eve's glasses, wiping away the whipped cream and pieces of banana. "In all honesty you're probably the best friend I've ever haaaaaaa-ayayayaya- ahhhhhhhh!" Automne screamed out as Eve slowly poured Automne's bottle of ice cold liquid down the back of his sweater.

Eve began to laugh as Automne jumped around the kitchen in a panic.

"Ah ah why Eve WHY?!" The self proclaimed ninja shouted as he tried to pull off his tactical vest.

"Now we're even." Her soft voice broke out between her heavy laughter as Automne fell to the floor and crawled into the fetal position.

"We-we-we-we-well p-p-p-played," He shivered in defeat as Eve walked over to him with tears in the corner of her eyes as she continued to laugh hysterically.

"So, what's next?" Eve managed to ask as she clutched at her stomach.

Automne held up Eve's glasses, "J-j-j-just one m-m-m-more th-thing."

* * *

"So, there I was just fiddling around under Ty's bed when I came across it, the largest stash of manga I've ever seen. Like seriously huge. Like I've seen some large manga collections, but Ty's takes the cake." Automne loudly declared as him and Eve hung their legs off the side of the roof. The early morning was fairly still and serene aside from their occasional bursts of laughter which brought a very welcome amount of life to the presently desolate campus.

"Why were you nosing around under Ty's bed?" Eve asked with an amused smile as she jollily swung her legs back and forth.

"Because, Eve, someone needs to nose around under Ty's bed and if I don't do it then no one will." Automne said proudly as he placed a hand over his fresh black and yellow striped hoodie. "Now, it's your turn." Automne clarified as he leaned back against an object wrapped in a brown sheet.

Eve stopped swinging her legs and put her gloved hand over her chin. Eve gave a small, nervous giggle. "Well, there was this one time I asked Petunia if I could use her laptop and," Eve stopped for a moment her cheeks a dazzling shade of pink. "I changed my mind, you go again."

"Nope," Automne crossed his arms and shook his head, a broad smirk spread across his lips again. "It's too late now, spill it."

Eve shifted uneasily a bit before she took a deep breath. "When I opened her laptop… It was porn!"

Automne suddenly gave a loud chortle and rocked on the ledge dangerously. "Oh my Dust," He managed to sputter between his outbursts of howling laughter. "What happened next?"

"I closed it and immediately gave it back to her." Eve shouted in embarrassment as she buried her face in her hands.

Automne fell backwards onto the gravely rooftop, shoving his mysterious object out of the way as he continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"It's not funny." Eve whined loudly as she crossed her arms. "It's gross,"

Automne's laughter slowly began to peter out. "Oh, yes it is." He said with a chuckle as he began to get cozy on his back. Automne let out a large sigh as he wiped a tear out of his eye. "Dust, you are way too sheltered."

"No, I'm not. I just don't think pornography is… decent." Eve said defensively as an utterly repulsed look crossed her face.

"It's not just that; as hilarious as that is. It's the whole you, the strict schedule, the no touchy thing, your parents made you a prude." Automne said with a large smile as he brought his arms up behind his head.

Eve blushed brightly, "W-well I don't see what's-"

"Ep ep ep, I'm not saying that's a bad thing little Ms. Assume. I'm just saying they sheltered you a bit. It's kind of cool… In a way… sort of."

Eve paused for a moment and laid back on the rooftop alongside Automne. "How so?"

Automne shrugged, "I don't know, I guess it just shows that, eh, well your parents love you and they wanted to keep you safe; which is cool. And now that you're all independent and stuff you have a lot more to experience and see… and stuff."

Eve stared up at the large dark sky above peppered by glimmering specks of light. A warm smile began to cross her face as they laid there and looked out into space. A few calm moments passed before Eve turned slightly to Automne, her dark hair cascading onto the rooftop like black water.

"Hey, Automne, what are your parents like?" Eve's innocent, soft voice asked suddenly.

Automne paused for a moment; he blinked a few dozen times his eyes seemingly scanning the sky above for an answer.

Automne gave a heavy sigh.

"My dad, he's a cool guy… He, uhh, he used to work as a blacksmith. I don't think he really liked it that much. He'd always come home tired and covered in soot. But his dad used to be the town blacksmith and the town needed a blacksmith, so he had to do it. We didn't live in one of the kingdoms; we actually lived in a small town outside of the walls. So when there was a job that needs to be filled," Automne waved his hand through the air dismissively. "Ya' gotta do it."

Automne went quiet for a few moments as he looked back up at the sky. "When we moved here he decided to become a florist. He always liked flowers… And my mother… She used to be a florist. Well, florist in the general sense. She was in charge of the herbs and helping to keep the crops healthy. All that stuff." Automne stopped and gave another sigh.

"Is that how your parents met?" Eve chimed with a curious smile.

"Yeah… it is actually. My dad was looking for a flower or something for his house and… that's how they met."

A small, sweet smile crossed Eve's lips as she imagined the two meeting for the first time. "That sounds really sweet. What's your mom like?"

Automne paused for another few moments. "She… My mom… My mom was really nice. She was really… Beautiful."

Eve's smile quickly began to fade away as Automne went on.

"She's not really around anymore… She died." Automne said in the most casual tone he could muster.

"I'm so sorry." Eve said gingerly as Automne stared straight up into the heavens above.

Automne shook his head slightly "No, it's alright… It's… It happened a long time ago. I've gotten over the hard stuff; it's just… a bit hard to talk about."

"Automne, you don't have to talk about it."

"No… Talking helps and, at least people say talking helps and… And it's been about nine years now, so I really need to put this behind me." Automne closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "My mom had a little garden near the edge of the forest. I remember people would always tell her to uproot it and move it closer to town because it was too dangerous there, but my mom would always tell them no because the soil was richer near the forest. So, she never moved it, I remember it pretty well. There weren't many flowers in it, just lots of herbs and some vanilla plants.

"She'd take me out there occasionally when she needed help carrying back herbs and then she'd show me how to make vanilla ice cream when we got back to town. And I- I remember the last day we went out there. We were going to harvest a couple of the vanilla plants and surprise my dad with a big dessert. My mom never told me what the surprise was going to be about, but I still remember how excited she looked when she told me. So, she ended up getting me super excited about going out to help." Automne gave a heavy sigh.

"I was actually so excited that I forgot to bring one of the baskets. I didn't realize that until I got to the edge of the forest though, so I had to run back to the village to get it, so I was about half-way between when… when… my mom started screaming." Automne slowly rose out of his relaxed position and turned over towards his object wrapped in brown sheets.

"I turned around and I saw… I saw my mom's legs hanging out the mouth of a Grimm." Automne stopped and rubbed his hand over the brown sheets while Eve patiently waited for him to continue. Automne took a deep breath and gave a heavy sigh. "The thing looked at me with its giant blood red eyes and hissed at me… I pissed myself and ran back to the village screaming my head off." Automne gave one last heavy sigh and began to untie the sheet. "And that was basically the worst day of my life. My dad and I stayed in the village for about another year before we decided to leave. We slowly moved East until we moved into Vale about a month ago."

Eve sat in silence for a few moments with her legs curled up against her chest as she processed Automne's story.

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

Automne gave a small sigh, "Thanks… don't feel too bad about it though, it happened a long time ago so I try not to let it get to me. There's no use dwelling on the past, but if it's all the same to you I'd prefer to keep this secret. People always treat you differently over… stuff like this."

Eve sat quietly and stared off into the distance as Automne got frustrated in failing to untie a knot made in the sheets.

"Automne,"

"Yes," Automne muttered through gritted teeth as he tried to rip the sheets apart.

"I want to share something with you." Eve said calmly as she pulled her sleeve back and began to remove her glove.

Automne stopped tugging at the sheet and slowly turned over to Eve who had now begun to remove her other glove. Eve turned her head away for a moment and lifted her hands up to her face.

Automne leaned back to try and catch a glimpse of what Eve was doing, but was only met with her curtain of black hair so he quickly gave up.

"Alright," Eve said nervously, her head held low. "I'm going to show you something, but I want you to promise me you're not going to laugh."

"Eve, what're you-"

"Automne, please promise me."

"Alright alright I promise. Way to be dramatic." Automne muttered the last part to himself as Eve took a deep breath and swung her head around.

Her eyes were tightly shut and her lips were quivering intensely as Automne stared at her, completely clueless as to what exactly he was supposed to be looking at. Eve took another deep breath, her eyelids now quivering as if she were having trouble opening them.

"Sooooooo, what am I-"

"Give me a second!" Eve interrupted impatiently as she took one last large breath, exhaled and slowly opened her eyes, tears budding in the corners.

Automne stared into her eyes, completely taken aback. Where her eyes should have been white they were a deep black, speckled with small glimmers of what looked like starlight and her eyes were no longer periwinkle, but instead a silvery white that stood against the dark sclera like small bright moons.

The small moons darted back and forth in their sockets nervously as Eve waited for any kind of response other than Automne's astonished stare.

"I-It's a rare genetic mutation that runs in my family." Eve crossed her arms again as Automne continued to stare into her eyes. "When I was in grade school kids would always make fun of my eyes and call me names, so I wear contacts." Eve paused again as Automne continued to pierce into her with his stare. "Could- could you please say something? The staring is starting to get creepy."

"Oh, umm sorry. I was just… Nevermind, but yeah your eyes look really… pretty… Cool, really pretty cool. Is what... I meant." Automne bumbled as he tried to stop looking at Eve's eyes.

Eve's eyes softened as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Oh… thank you." She said softly as they proceeded to just sit there awkwardly and look around.

Automne cleared his throat, "So… yeah, I-uhh I assume you don't want me to tell Ty or Petunia about your," Automne waved his hand around his eyes.

Eve gave a simple nod.

"Alright then, so I'll keep your secrets and I'll trust you with mine."

"Sure," Eve's warm yet earnest voice replied.

"Alright then, well let's make it official!" Automne shouted as he bolted up into a seated position on the ledge and held out his closed fist.

"Alright, just let me put my gloves on."

"You can do this without your gloves."

Eve gave a gasp and looked down at her gloves. "B-but then we would touch and-"

"Eve, I thought you wanted to promise." Automne scolded as Eve looked at her gloves in concern.

Eve gave a loud groan, "Alright," she said hesitantly as she slowly began to move her closed, slender, pale fist towards Automne's at the pace of a lethargic snail.

Automne stared down at her hand and raised an eyebrow. "Preferably some time before dawn would be nice Eve." Automne said dryly as Eve's fist still moved forward like cold molasses.

"Give me a second." She muttered quietly, her silvery eyes fixated on their hands.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and closed the rest of the distance, causing Eve to flinch.

"Okay it's done. Now let me-"

"No, it's not." Automne clarified as he grabbed Eve by the wrist with his other hand and held her in place.

Eve let out what sounded like a gasp mixed with yelp as she stared down at the physical contact in horror. "Okay, okay what's next?!"

"Calm down, and I'll tell you."

"I'm calm, I am completely calm."

"You're starting to sweat."

"What do we do next?!" Eve squealed in a high-pitched frazzled voice.

"Alright, alright, the next part is simple. We just have to lock it," Automne turned his fist about ninety degrees and loosened his grip on Eve's wrist. Eve quickly turned her wrist and looked at Automne desperately for what the next step was. "Now just put it in your pocket." Automne said almost mockingly as he took his fist and put it into his pocket. Eve quickly whipped her hand away and shoved it into her jacket with a whimper as soon as Automne released his grip on her. "Now, was that so hard?"

"Yes, yes it was." Eve moped melodramatically as she started to pull her gloves back on.

Automne chuckled to himself a bit as he swung his legs around off the edge of the building. "You need to learn to chill out… Oh yeah, that reminds me I brought something." Automne chimed happily as he reached over to the sheet covered object and picked it up.

"I was meaning to ask you what that was." Eve said with a lot less angst as she tried to put her contacts back in.

"This Little Ms. Mary-jo-Lisa-"

"That's not my name."

"Whatever, now anyways, this is a little special something that I whipped up for a special occasion. The only problem is I can't untie these damn sheets."

"Here, let me try it." Eve asked politely as she scooted up to the ledge and grabbed the object.

"Well good luck that thing is-"

"This knot isn't even tied. These sheets were open the whole time."

Automne stopped and stared in bewilderment as Eve casually pulled a cooler out of the sheets. "Why does the universe hate me?"

"Maybe it's because you're mean to me."

Automne gave a sigh and took the cooler away from Eve. "Rhetorical question," Automne popped open the lid to the cooler and pulled out a frost covered glass bottle and handed it to Eve.

Eve looked the bottle up and down skeptically after she noticed there was only some tinfoil over the mouth instead of an actual bottle cap. "Umm, Automne, what is this?"

"This Eve is my own personal creation. And before you say anything, no there isn't any alcohol in it."

"I wasn't going to say that."

"Well good, because there isn't."

Eve stared at the bottle again with concern. "Why would you-"

"What do you take me for some kind of n'e'r-do-well?"

"What, I didn't even-"

"Oh, stop stop stop, look." Automne insisted ecstatically as he pointed out towards the horizon.

Eve slowly, but gladly, turned to witness the sun slowly starting to peek over the horizon and coat the land with warm rays of light. Eve's mouth fell open as the sunlight shined off the morning dew and coated the ground and rooftops with small wisps of steam.

"Congratulations, Eve, you pulled your first all- nighter." Automne said sincerely as he raised his own frost covered bottle out towards Eve for a toast.

Eve looked down at her bottle and raised it up high. "Thanks Automne, I want to propose a toast; a toast to our friendship."

A broad grin crossed Automne's lips as he tapped his bottle against Eve's with a loud clink. "Friends 'til the end," Automne threw his head back as he took a large swig from his bottle.

Eve looked at her bottle hesitantly one more time before closing her eyes and taking a small sip. Eve's eyes shot open as the drink's rich, sweet, creamy yet fruity fluid flowed through her mouth and washed down her throat far too quickly causing her to press the bottle against her lips again and take a couple large gulps.

"I take it you like it?" Automne said with a smug smirk as he watched Eve from the corner of his eye.

Eve nodded her head rapidly as she tried to savor the truly unique flavor of whatever it was she was drinking. "Iz zere more?"

"Yes, yes there is, but first it's time for the moment of truth. Eve Howlite," Automne called into his bottle as if it were a microphone. "Was this night the most fun you have ever had?"

Eve paused for a moment and set her bottle between her thighs. She held a finger to her bottom lip and stared out into the sunrise for a minute. "Hmm… maybe,"

There was a brief pause.

"The hell do you mean maybe? There was pie, there were video games, we pulled pranks-"

"That girl wanted to kill us."

"-I didn't say they were successful. What more do you want? A bounce house filled with strawberry gelatin?"

"How would that be fun?" Eve asked with a single raised eyebrow.

"I don't know, but at this point I don't know what fun is anymore." Automne gave a heavy sigh. "You know what we made an agreement and I'm just being sore. Here," Automne set down his bottle and began to unwrap his scarf from around his neck. He gently folded it and held it out to Eve in both hands. "Eve, I bestow upon you my scarf… Hand wash only and drip dry."

Eve looked down at Automne's scarf with big eyes. "Automne… I can't take your scarf."

"Eve, I made a promise and I always keep my promises. Now, take my scarf."

"Automne, I can't." Eve admitted as she pushed his hands back a little.

"Take it," Automne insisted as he pushed it towards her.

"No,"

"Yes,"

"No,"

"Yes,"

"No!"

"Ye-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Automne screamed in a panic as he lost his balance, Eve tried to grab his hands, but only caught his scarf before he fell off the roof.

"Automne!" Eve called out as she jumped to her feet. "Are you alright?!"

Automne rolled around on the ground and moaned a bit before he began to mutter something inaudible.

"What was that?"

"I said I have some good news for you! I'm pretty certain I broke my leg! Now you have something to practice on for your exam!" Automne broke into hysterical laughter as Eve threw Automne's scarf around her neck and grabbed her weapon.

"Don't move; I'm going to go get my kit!" Eve shouted in panic as she sprinted back across the rooftop and into the stairwell.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Automne said with a couple more chuckles before fainting.

* * *

**I don't own Halo, please don't sue me. **

**Thanks for reading. Follow, Favorite and Review if you want and check out my other stuff if that floats your goat. Thanks again to my editor NinjaSlayer4x who loves to make suggestions that I do not follow. More will be coming soon and trust me big stuff is headed Team TAPE's way. **

**Stay tuned, but until next time Peace out.**

**-CS**

**P.s. This is my favorite chapter. 3**


	9. So how was school?

"Tap tap tap," A large wooden door to a somewhat down trodden home sang happily before falling silent for a few moments. "TAP TAP TAP," The door sang again, noticeably louder than before.

"Oh for the love of," An irate voice hissed in a whisper.

"THUMP THUMP-"

The door to the house swung open and a dark gray robot stepped forward pointing a rifle out at the doorstep. The robot glanced around and took a step out onto the empty patio. It turned left and then right, its weapon held steady in its hands as it swept the landscape. It slowly lowered its weapon down to its side and made its way back into the house.

The robot slung its gun back over its shoulder and slammed the door closed.

"All clear," Its hollow mechanical voice called out as it turned to look at another robot of the same make standing down the hall past a large bright entry way.

"Psst, hey buddy," A disembodied voice whispered from behind the robot. "How about a little hospitality?"

The Robot's visor flashed to a bright red as it quickly raised its arm to reach for its gun, but it came to an immediate halt as sparks erupted from the bottom of its head. The machine quickly stiffened and began to crumble as its counterpart down the hallway took notice. It made to reach for its own weapon and was immediately brought to the ground with a suppressed pop and a small metallic clatter.

'_Dust damn, I am awesome.'_ Automne thought to himself smugly as he faded into visibility, his scarf wrapped over his mouth and his goggles glowing a bright yellow. He grabbed onto the robot tightly from behind and slowly lowered it to the ground after ripping his blade out of its head.

"All clear in the entrance hall. Stand by for advisory." Automne whispered as he lightly pressed the barrel of his gun against his ear like an idiot. He slowly creeped down the hall in a crouch and came to a stop at the entryway to a large bright living room.

Automne gave a heavy sigh, quickly faded out of visibility, and silently made his way across the entrance and down the hall. He cast a small glance into the room as he passed to see the room was crowded with shabby furniture and, 'of_ course'_, more robots.

'_Ah, robots, nature's zombies,'_ Automne thought to himself as he stepped over the second destroyed robot and reached a bend at the end of the hall. He poked his head around the corner and focused on a closed door to his left.

Automne took a deep breath and stumbled back against the wall like a drunk trying too hard to keep balance. He quickly flickered in and out of visibility as darkness crept into the corners of his eyes narrowing his vision. His breathing became heavy as he fumbled to get back to his feet.

"Stupid semblance," he muttered to himself as he tapped his blade against the side of his head.

He took a few more deep breaths, shook his head around, and returned to invisibility.

'_I am going to have such a migraine after this is done.'_ He thought to himself as he snuck up to the door and knocked a few times.

A couple seconds passed and the door promptly opened up to reveal yet another robot accompanied by two more sitting at a table behind it.

"At least you didn't make me wait." Automne said softly as he swung his blade behind the robot and buried it in its back. He quickly placed his pistol onto its shoulder as his invisibility faded and the other robots sprang up from the table. Automne gave two simple squeezes to the trigger and sent the alerted robots back onto the ground as he muttered "Boom headshot, boom headshot," under his breath.

The remaining robot, which was writhing in Automne's arms like a dying beetle or something that had just been stabbed in the back, suddenly grew stiff as Automne pressed the barrel of his gun against the side of its head.

"I'll see you in robot hell you, sick freak." Automne whispered into its auditory receptor module as he imagined how cool he thought he looked. Automne squeezed the trigger and sent sparks and debris flying into his face as the robot collapsed against him.

"Okayokayokay, here we go." Automne said quickly as he pushed the robot back into the room and closed the door. Automne gave a heavy sigh as he wiped small flecks of Dust from his face and sheathed his ninjato on his back.

"Scarf to sash, we are clear for breach. I repeat we are clear for breach. Moving into position for suppression. On your mark," Automne whispered into his headset as he dropped a magazine from his pistol and quickly replaced it with one from his vest.

Automne turned and began to cautiously sneak further down the hall towards another bright entrance to the living room. He pressed himself against the wall and raised his pistol up in front of him. He wrapped both hands around the grip and took a couple deep breaths.

"Breach team in position." Ty breathed into the headset. "Breaching in 3. 2. 1."

A loud burst of gunfire rang through the halls as Automne popped out from around the corner and picked off the first few robots in the living room with a few rounds.

Automne quickly drained through his magazine and unloaded every bullet he had until he was met with a hail of gunfire, knocking him back and tearing through the wall he was using as cover.

"Throwing up cover," Petunia shouted into the microphone as a few large triangles appeared and replaced Automne's cover. "Providing covering fire while gloves moves up." She finished as she stepped into the other doorway and began to pepper the robots with her shotgun, tearing the living room and anything else in her path apart like a runaway lawnmower.

"Careful or you'll damage the package!" Ty called out over the microphone as the robots ducked behind what remained of their furniture.

"Can we stop shouting into the microphones?" Automne shouted directly into his microphone as he poked the barrel of his gun out of cover and began firing blindly.

"Sure, let's worry about getting the package before we take care of all the killer robots that want to turn us into Swiss cheese. Great plan, oh fabulous leader." Petunia scoffed at Ty, completely ignoring Automne, as she waved her hand and formed a barrier of blue triangles in front of their doorway.

"The objective does not call for a burning pile of unsalvageable debris and it also doesn't call for a snippety sarcastic-"

"Please stop fighting." Eve pleaded over the microphone as she ran up behind Automne with Starlight Marionette in hand, her coattail waving gently behind her as shrapnel and stray rounds flew into the hall.

"Oh Eve," Automne started. "There's no use trying to stop them. That's just how an unreasonable, moody, brash computer geek with poor social skills and an impatient, inconsiderate, self-righteous, narcissist talk to each other when not indulging in their extreme perversions."

There was a brief pause before the shields protecting Automne quickly disintegrated.

"Mature," Automne muttered quietly before he was blasted with a hail of gunfire that sent him flying back into the wall.

"Your mic's hot." Ty say flatly as Eve rushed forward and pulled Automne out of the line of fire.

"Automne, are you alright?!" Eve cried as she pulled down his scarf, took a small vial of smelling salts out of her pocket and waved it under Automne's nose.

"Ack Eve, I'm good!" Automne shouted as he rolled over onto his side and pressed his fingers to his ear. "Can someone take care of those damn robots?!"

"As of five seconds ago the only one left is the Juggernaut."

Automne gave a sigh, "Eve, we're up." Automne said disinterestedly as he pushed himself off the ground and pulled his ninjato out of its sheath.

Eve took her naginata by the end and gave it a couple twists causing a short cylindrical handle to pop off. It gave a soft click and four flat pieces of metal sprouted out of the sides to form a large H. Eve gave Automne a small smile and nodded her head.

"Alright… go!" Automne called out before sprinting out into the open, right towards a formidable robot covered in twice the amount of metal plating, compared to the other robots, and wielding a light machine gun.

'_This is stupid, this is stupid, this is stupid!'_ Automne's brain screamed at him as he chucked his short sword into the barrel of the rifle with a loud metallic shriek. Automne broke into a slide as the robot threw the gun to the side and charged him with a fist held high.

Automne closed his eyes tightly and waited for the impact to send him into the floor. The room fell silent, aside from the sound of crumbling infrastructure it was silent and Automne was pretty certain that he wasn't dead. Automne carefully began to pry his eyes open and to his surprise he didn't find himself under twelve feet of stone, but was instead greeted to the sight of the robot standing in front of him, stiff as a statue.

Eve was standing in the doorway to the room holding out her marionette handle in one hand, its four glistening cables extending out to each of the robot's limbs, while her other held her naginata over her shoulder.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and began to roll out from under the wires.

"Nice job, Eve." An exhausted Automne slurred as he crawled over to the robot's discarded LMG and yanked his blade from its mangled workings. "For a second there I honestly thought I was gonna- OW!" Automne shouted as Ty walked up and smacked him on the back of the head while Petunia rummaged through what used to be a wood table.

"That's for being a bitch." Ty said casually as he walked back over to Petunia to help her search for the package.

Automne gave a groan, "Screw you," he replied dully as he got to his feet and walked over to the robot who was now standing at attention. "You probably wouldn't give me any lip, would ya'?" he mumbled to the machine bitterly.

"What was that?" Eve chimed softly as she walked up to the robot, her fingers spinning small rings on the handle all the while to keep the cables fairly tense.

"Nothing Eve," Automne looked the robot up and down and examined the cables a bit. "You're pretty good with that thing. Is it hard to use? 'Cause I've never seen you use it 'til now."

Eve gave a small giggle. "No, it's pretty easy after a while. You just have to be good with your fingers."

"I'd like to put those fingers to good use." Petunia said with a perverted smile as she stared at Eve's hands.

Everyone stopped and stared at Petunia for a minute. Petunia blinked a few times and clenched her teeth like an idiot who had just realized she had said something extremely inappropriate out loud.

"Umm, I mean…" Petunia began to quickly throw aside debris as everyone continued to stare at her. "Hey look what I found!" Petunia cheered as she pulled out a laptop.

"You found it!" Ty cheered excitedly as he ran up to examine it.

"Are we just gonna ignore that whole thing Petunia said about Eve's fingers?" Automne interrupted as he pointed to a slightly disturbed Eve.

"I don't feel safe with Petunia on my side of the curtain anymore. Automne will you help me-"

"Eve, I told you before I am not touching that thing again. Last time I tried adjusting the stupid thing it fell on me."

Ty rolled his eyes, "Dude, it's just a little metal track. "

"I couldn't breathe! It was crushing my neck!"

"Complaints, complaints," Petunia waved off casually as she formed a horizontal triangle and placed the laptop on it.

Automne gave a loud groan, sheathed his ninjato and sat down on the remains of what he thought looked like the couch. "You people are the worst… Except you, Eve; you're cool." Automne said tiredly as he lounged back into the debris and threw his feet up onto a destroyed robot.

"Dude, don't get comfortable. Get up and cover that doorway." Ty commanded as he made his way over to the doorway closest to the entrance hall and leaned up against the wall.

"Why? The house is all clear and Petunia should be done with that thing in," Automne pointed at Petunia and waved his hand a bit as if she were supposed to be prepared to respond to this completely spontaneous gesture.

"Huh? Umm, I guess a minute or two." She said absentmindedly as she pulled a flash drive from her pocket and inserted it into the laptop.

Automne set his gun in his lap and held his arms up behind his head. "See, we're good. Package is secured, Petunia's raiding the files, or something, and we've cleared all the-" Automne stopped abruptly.

Eve gave a scream as she was swept off her feet by a large net which cut through the strings of her marionette handle and sent her flying into the wall.

"Oh crap!" Automne shouted in panic before he was tackled by the freed Juggernaut and slammed against the ground.

Ty and Petunia dove for cover behind the pile of shattered wood as gunfire rained from the halls and tore the walls and what remained of the furniture to shreds.

Petunia quickly threw up a wall of barriers between her and the torrent of bullets while Ty pulled out his shuriken and aimed it at the juggernaut, who was just about to turn Automne's face into pulp, that is, until the sound of crunching plastic filled the room.

Ty and Petunia looked on in horror as the laptop was riddled with bullet holes. Sparks leapt down off of Petunia's barrier wildly as it quickly collapsed, dropping the remaining fragments of the laptop to the ground with a clatter.

A loud alarm filled the house as the gunfire came to a stop and the Juggernaut dropped Automne to the ground.

"Simulation failed. Simulation failed. Simulation failed." A loud feminine voice called out in between the alarms wails.

"Ughh, we heard it the first time!" Petunia shouted in frustration as she got to her feet and kicked the pile of wood.

"Can someone get me out of the net please?" Eve called out miserably as she wiggled around in the net.

Automne gave a heavy groan as he squirmed around on the floor in pain. "Oh no," He muttered to himself as Ty walked over to him, unbridled rage boiling in his eyes like molten magma. "No, no, no, my Aura's low man!" Automne pleaded as Ty bent down and punched him on the cheek. "Aww, come on!"

"Dude, you didn't clear out the garage!" Ty shouted at him as he backed up and began to pace back-and-forth furiously.

"I-I forgot!" Automne shouted as if it would excuse him for his negligence.

"What do you mean you 'forgot'?!" Petunia shouted as she turned her shotgun into an axe and buried its head in the wall.

"Hey, I have to clear out the entrance hall, the first room, and I have to provide suppressing fire during the breach so it is not my fault!"

"This is entirely your fault!" Petunia yelled back as she began to kick a broken robot.

"I'm still trapped in the net." Eve said calmly.

"Hey, don't blame me. T-ty was doing literally nothing after we secured the laptop."

"I was covering the door. You were supposed to clear the garage after we cleared the living room."

"There are five guys in there. How in the world am I supposed to take on five completely alerted enemies by myself after I have already taken fire?"

"This floor is very dirty." Eve said in an almost hopeless tone as she lay motionless in the net.

"Team Taupe, please exit the training room floor. Also, please refrain from damaging the sets any further. Some of us actually have to repair those." The voice concluded in a calm, but slightly agitated tone.

Ty gave a groan as he got to his feet, "Automne, get Eve out of the net. Come on Petunia, let's go."

"Hey, we're not done talking about this." An absolutely bitter Automne remarked as Ty and Petunia started to walk out of the house.

"Automne, can you please get me out of the net; my nose is itchy." Eve asked politely as she scrunched her face and tried to brush her nose against the net.

"Ugh, what a dumbass." Ty grunted in frustration as he stared up at a scoreboard displaying their absolutely dreadful score for everyone to see.

"Well, it could have been worse. At least they didn't throw any hostages in there." Petunia said with a grimace as she removed her aviators and pocketed her hands.

"Ugh, it's all his damn fault. If he would have just paid attention-"

"Oh, so it's still my fault?" Automne said with an astringent scowl as he walked up behind the two with Eve following after.

"Yes, because you didn't clear out the garage." Ty responded flatly.

"Well, you know, what it's just as much your fault as it is mine, because guess what. You also forgot about clearing the garage." Automne said with a large smirk as he pointed a finger in his face like he had come to a brilliant conclusion, even though he was just trying to cover up his own stupidity.

"No, because it was your job to clear out the garage and not mine. So this is entirely your fault." Ty said adamantly as he refused to yield to Automne's logic for even a second.

"Ty, if you don't mind me saying, I have to agree with Automne. You should have helped him clear the garage… Even if it is more than partially his fault…" Eve said softly as she cleaned plaster dust off her glasses with her handkerchief.

"Pfft, of course you'd side with him." Petunia interrupted with a smirk, brushing some dry wall off her shoulder as the group turned to her.

Automne raised an eyebrow while Eve returned to standing in silence. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Petunia's eyes rolled in her head like billiard balls. "Oh will you two just drop it with the innocent act already. We know all about your whole late night hanky panky excursion. You two coming back to the dorm at six in the morning, leaning on each other for support, Eve wrapped up in your scarf."

"I had a broken leg!" Automne shouted out in bewilderment.

"I don't need to know what kind of stuff you two get into when you're gettin' hot-n-heavy."

Automne slapped his hand against his face, pushed his goggles up onto his forehead and began to rub his temples. "This is literally too stupid for me to care about."

"You're not using that word properly." Ty chimed in, causing Automne to tightly shut his eyes and turn away.

"Can everyone please just be quiet for like five minutes? My head is killing me and I want all of you to please just shut up."

The four stood in silence for about five seconds until,

"Well, I have to say that was a very lackluster performance Mr. Inuhoozuki. I'm not saying I expected more from your team, but nonetheless you still managed to impress me with your team's lack of coordination." An extremely smug, yet official voice chided.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and hung his head back. "Why does the universe hate me?"

"Because you suck," Ty responded dryly as Sienaerde approached with her team.

"In all honesty, bravo, you have genuinely astounded me though by showing just how substandard a student can be to waft their way into Beacon." Sienaerde gave a couple soft, sarcastic claps as she stood squarely in front of them with her rifle slung over one shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. We're inferior you're superior." Petunia said with a scowl, "Anything else you want to say or was that it?"

"Actually, rainbow, I came to give congratulations to Ms. Howlite." Sienaerde said with a condescending smile as Petunia gritted her teeth. "Out of all of you she was the only one to score a seven while Ms. Kapelle here could barely manage to muster a meager five. I want to congratulate her for managing to be mediocre." Sienaerde gave Eve an empty smile and held her hand out to be shaken.

Eve glanced between her teammates, who were staring at her, waiting to hear her response. Eve's eyes began to water a bit before she hung her head in shame and took a breath. Eve made to raise her hand, but was immediately interrupted.

"Okay, how about you piss off." Irritation heavy in Automne's voice as he stepped between Eve and Sienaerde. "My head is killing me and you are just irritating the crap out of me." Automne stepped forward, narrowing the distance between them to a couple inches. "You've had your little power trip so why don't you," Automne poked his finger into the girl's chest and was immediately kneed in the crotch.

Automne staggered for a second before being grabbed by the scarf and given a solid head butt sending him back onto the ground. Automne lurched up and was met with the cold steel of Sienaerde's bayonet under his chin.

"I despise you Noire. You are a weak, coward who hides behind his semblance like a child. Those who have allowed you to stand here made a mistake. When the time comes I truly believe you will break, and when you do…" Sienaerde gave him as sinister smile as she rubbed the tip of her blade against his throat and stomped on his ankle, eliciting a loud grunt of pain from Automne.

There was a brief pause as Automne stared up the barrel of her rifle in pain before Petunia raised her shotgun and pointed it directly at Sienaerde's head.

"Let the idiot up and put the rifle away, unless you want to wake up in the Infirmary."

There was another metallic clatter as one of Sienaerde's teammate's dressed in gold plate armor raised a rifle and aimed it at Petunia.

Ty gave a heavy sigh "Dust damn it," Ty drew his shuriken in a flash, unfolded it and pointed it towards the guy in gold before a silver gauntlet blade was pressed against his throat.

There was one more loud click as Sienaerde's third teammate pointed what looked like an airburst rifle at Eve who gave a small yelp and raised her hands up in surrender without any hesitation.

"Eve!"Automne shouted in shock as Eve stood in front of the gun with her arms raised high.

"What? I can't violate my oaths." Eve said innocently, her hands still raised up like she was in the middle of a good stretch.

"Ugh, stupid medical oaths," Automne muttered under his breath. "Well, can you at least try and look serious? We're in the middle of a stand-off."

"No, you're not." A stern voice interrupted.

Everyone froze in place for a moment before slowly turning their heads towards Professor Baula who was watching them intently.

"In fact, all of you were just on your way down to my office so we may discuss your punishments. Mr. Noire and Ms. Tänzerin, I would like to have a word with you two first." There was a brief pause as the professor stared at them with a warm smile. He softly cleared his throat. "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough, I said go to my office… Now."He said with an even wider smile, causing everyone to quickly holster or sheath their weapons and fall into a quiet march down the hall.

* * *

Professor Baula gave a heavy sigh, his chin supported by a hand propped on his desk which was covered in piles of student's papers, his hat perched atop the largest pile like a fat cat. Automne tried to prevent himself from looking right at the Professor in his tired, yet strict eyes as the ticking of a loud grandfather clock in the corner rang throughout the cluttered office. "Now, are we clear?" The Professor asked politely as he looked back and forth between Automne and Sienaerde who were quietly sitting next to each other with their hands folded in their laps.

"Yes, Sir, I understand." Sienaerde humbly replied with her head hung low.

"Excellent," The Professor's eyes slowly shifted over to Automne and dug into him like drills. "Noire,"

Automne gave a sigh, "Yes, Professor." He said weakly.

The Professor leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his wavy, oil-black hair. "Alright then, now that all of that is in order, let's move on." The Professor said casually as he rolled back in his office chair and put his boots up onto the corner of the desk. "Mr. Noire, can you please send in the rest of Team Sepia?"

Automne silently got to his feet and began to walk back across the wood floor towards the door.

"Mr. Noire, before you go, I have one more thing to ask you." A vague seriousness was laden in the Professor's voice.

Automne came to an immediate stop and took a deep breath. "Umm, of course, what do you want to… ask me?"

There was silence between them as the Professor stared at him with his piercing green eyes while the clock ticked loudly from the corner.

"That clock," The Professor started as he pointed over to the large wooden instrument. "What do you make of it?"

Automne took a moment to scan over the clock a few times. From its clearly hand carved molding to its shimmering golden weights and pendulum it radiated a sort of serenity that spoke of grand, simple times. But one thing stuck out above all else. "It's… It's a bit loud."

The Professor paused for a moment, looked over at the clock and gave a soft sigh. "Yes, my thoughts exactly, and the thing is it was a gift from Professor Ozpin, so I don't know what to do. I don't want to be rude and tell him about it, but it's so loud, I've been having a difficult time focusing on my work. Do you think a repair man would be able to fix it?"

Automne shrugged as he looked between the man and the clock. "I-I don't know, maybe."

"Hmm,"

"It is a beautiful clock, Sir." Sienaerde said suddenly as she turned to look at the clock.

"Oh yes, of course, it's made out of mahogany and the craftsmanship is truly exquisite."

"Quite,"

"Have you maybe tried adjusting the pendulum?" Automne shyly suggested, the clock continuing to tick loudly all the while as the three looked on.

"That was actually one of the first things I tried, but I suppose I could try it again before I look into calling a repairman. I just don't want to end up spending money on an assessment only to find out that I didn't need one in the first place. Mr. Noire, didn't you say you knew a clock maker?"

"Umm, no, at least I don't think I did."

"Oh, Ms. Tänzerin was that you who said that?"

"Not that I can recall, Sir."

"Huh… Then who was I talking to… Oh never mind, Mr. Noire go ahead and send in Team Sepia."

"Yes, Professor," Automne said politely before he walked out into the hall. He looked over to a row of chairs lined up to the right of the door and saw all his fellow delinquents sitting in silence. "'Ey EPA, the Professor wants to speak to you." Automne said tiredly as he sauntered over and took up a seat between Ty and Petunia, the varying degrees of boredom spread across their face like butter.

The three members of Sepia quickly got to their feet and shuffled into the Professor's office with scowls on their faces.

"Well, don't they seem like a lovely bunch?" Automne said sarcastically before drooping back in his chair.

"I'm not talking to you." Ty said bitterly as Automne began to get comfortable.

'_Honestly, I don't even know why I try.'_ Automne's brain hissed at him.

"Are you still on the whole simulation thing? Dude, just get over it al-"

Petunia grabbed Automne by the front of his vest and whipped him around, bringing them face to face. "Look, you can whine all you want, make excuses and try and pass all the guilt off onto someone else, but at the end of the day you're the one who made us do worse than a bunch of freakin' hipsters." Petunia growled through her teeth as she shook Automne back and forth like a ragdoll.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Automne shouted, fear creeping into his eyes as he began to realize the gravity of their situation. "A-are you telling me we did worse than-"

"Team Plaid was two slots better than us, you ass." Petunia concluded as she threw Automne back into his chair.

Automne gave a heavy groan and slapped his hands against his face. "The Dust damn hipsters," He moaned in sorrow as he slid back in his chair.

"Umm, Automne, what're hipsters?" Eve asked cluelessly as she set aside a small medical kit that she was organizing.

Automne let off a disgusted groan as he slumped forward, falling onto the floor "Eve, hipsters are the worst possible thing to happen ever. They're a bunch of try hard losers who try to be cool by being 'ironic'."

Eve put her hand to her chin for a moment. "You mean kind of like Petunia?"

"Hey!"

"Close, but no. You see Eve Petunia actually believes she's cool even though she's just a computer geek."

"I am right here." Petunia hollered as she kicked Automne by the seat of his pants, causing him to slide forward across the hard stone floor.

Automne gave a groan, "It's kind of hard not to notice." Automne grumbled underneath his breath.

"What was that?" Petunia said with a raised eyebrow, her foot prepped to kick Automne in the can again.

"I said you're a valuable member of our team and I didn't mean to offend you."

"Ahaha, no, you didn't." Petunia said with a completely unamused look on her face as Automne crawled off the floor and back up into his chair.

"Well you can't prove it soooooooooooo." Automne blinked a couple times. "Moving on, anyways Ty." Automne placed a hand onto Ty's shoulder, which Ty immediately brushed off. "Ty, I wanted to say that I accept partial blame for us failing the breach thingy. We good?" Automne said with an obnoxiously stupid smile as he held his fist out.

Ty glanced over at him, his eyes narrowed. "No," He said quickly.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Automne groaned loudly "Come oooooooooooooon, just accept my apology, and maybe also apologize for completely forgetting about the garage and underutilizing your team, and we'll be good."

"I'm going to kill you during practice and make it look like an accident." Ty said flatly as he scooted his chair away from Automne's.

"Ughhhh, don't be a bitch."

"I'm not being a bitch, you're being the bitch."

"Meh!"

"Meh!"

"Kiss him. Kiss him." Petunia whispered loudly enough to cause everyone to turn and stare at her. "Uhhhhh I mean…" Her eyes darted back and forth. "Kiss him."

Ty gave a groan, "Petunia, stop being weird."

"What, I'm just giving a small suggestion to promote a healthy relationship."

"So does that explain all the erotic fanfiction of us on your laptop?" Ty said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, I told you not to go through my files!"

"There's fanfiction of us? Which one of us is on top?" Automne said without missing a beat.

"I am," Ty said with a small, but slightly proud grin.

"What?! Why do you get to be on top? I want to be on top!"

"I'm on top because I don't whine as much as you."

"That's debatable." Petunia wryly interjected.

Eve leaned closer to the group with a hand over one side of her mouth to indicate that this was a quiet whisper and not a regular whisper "Are you guys talking about," Eve looked up and down the hall before turning back to the group with paranoid eyes. "Intercourse?"

"No Eve, we're talking about sex." Automne said dryly, causing Eve to spring backwards and clap both her hands over her ears.

"Intercourse is sex, you idiot. You're fired." Ty gave Automne a small shove.

"I knew that I was just being… facetious."

Ty stared at Automne as if he were talking to a child, an annoying child. "You don't even know what that means, do you?"

"Does anyone really know what anything means or are we all just caught up in predetermined logic tunnels. Wrap your mind around that."

"This is why you'll never be top. Like not even top in real life either." Petunia said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair and threw her arms up behind her head.

"Well screw you too, Petunia." Automne crossed his arms and slouched in his chair.

Silence fell between the four of them as they all stared at the walls or the ceiling in boredom.

"You know, it just occurred to me that we cuss a lot for a T-rated story." Ty said suddenly as he began to count on his fingers.

"Actually, we're rated M now." Petunia said nonchalantly.

"Really, when did the author change it?" Ty asked as he looked straight up in an attempt to see the rating at the top of the page.

"I dunno, I just looked up the other day and he had changed it."

"Hmm, well I'll just have to take your word for it. I can't see it past all the damn line breaks." A rejected Ty admitted as he went back to relaxing in his chair

"Hey, don't you think we break the fourth wall a bit too much?" Petunia questioned casually, "Eh, never mind, that will probably stop when the plot actually starts."

"Eh, good point."

"Team Tape, Professor Baula would like to speak to you." Sienaerde said with a smug smirk after emerging from the doorway with her team following behind her.

Petunia let out a growl as the four got to their feet. "It's pronounced Taupe."

"Guys, I've never been in trouble before. What am I supposed to say?" A frazzled Eve pleaded as she packed her medical kit and placed it onto her back.

"Oh, just go ahead and assume we're experts on being in trouble. Sure that's not offensive." Automne said sarcastically as he passed Eve and walked into the office.

"W-wait, what- no. I mean- I'm sorry." Eve called out as she stood next to her chair distraught.

"Don't mind him, Eve, he's just a moody, socially-inept, douche, who doesn't know how to treat his friends when his head hurts!" Petunia shouted at Automne as she draped her arm over Eve's shoulder.

"Bite me!"

"See, what'd I tell ya'?" Petunia said with a smile as she ushered Eve into the office.

"Petunia, can you please take your arm off of me… and maybe take a few steps back." Eve said weakly, writhing uncomfortably under Petunia's arm.

Ty gave another groan as he followed them into the office and closed the door.

* * *

**Hello everybody, thanks for reading. You should know the drill by this point, if you're enjoying the story favorite, follow, or recommend it to someone. Oh and if you want go ahead and leave a review (I will love you if you do). Also go check out my other stuff if you haven't already. Now time for a shout-out to a truly super fan and new author, Crimson Grave. Crimson Grave has recently begun working on a RWBY and Black Rock Shooter crossover called, "Second Life" and I recommend checking it out.**

**Thank you to my editor NinjaSlayer4x for working with me through all the technical difficulties, check out his stuff.**

**And now a big thank you to all the artists and readers out there. I love writing and I love to hear from all you people, so please, talk to me.**

**Stay tuned because Team TAPE is about to get an offer they can't refuse and you probably don't want to miss it. Until next time, peace out. **

**-CS**


	10. Your teacher called today

The grandfather clock in Professor Baula's cluttered office ticked loudly as he ran his eyes over the members of Team Taupe, who sat in their chairs nervously, or just plain bored to death in Petunia's case. He gave a heavy sigh and set his elbows on his desk. "Alright, I know you four have had a long, tiring day, but before we can discuss your punishment-"

"Wait, you're not even going to hear our side of what happened?" A surprised Petunia interrupted as Eve quietly groaned in despair.

"I saw everything that happened earlier; I only stepped in once it got heated. Also it's very rude to interrupt an adult, Ms. Kapelle." The Professor replied calmly as he intertwined his fingers and rested his chin upon them.

"You saw students bullying, arguing, and assaulting one other and you only stepped in after it turned into a stand-off?" Ty asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Professor paused for a few seconds, "Well, when you say it like that I sound like I'm bad at my job." He said with a half-smile as he leaned back into his chair, earning himself a flat glare from Ty. "But in all seriousness, I know what I'm doing."

"He was assaulted." Eve clarified softly as she pointed to Automne who was sitting in his chair silently.

"I am aware, now let's get back on track." The Professor scooted his chair back from his desk, bent down, and picked up four medium sized manila folders. "Now, you three are definitely in trouble for starting and participating in an armed stand-off outside of a training room floor. That in itself can merit a full week of suspension with a permanent ban barring you from extracurricular activities or possibili-" The Professor halted mid-sentence and looked over at the grandfather clock in the corner in annoyance as it loudly chimed four times.

The Professor gave a heavy sigh, "Is the clock bothering anyone else?" He asked in an almost desperate curiosity.

Ty and the rest of the team exchanged glances and, aside from Automne, shook their heads while muttering "No,"

The Professor reclined back in his chair and gave a sigh. "That clock is driving me insane. It was a gift from Professor Ozpin. I was looking for some sign of who may have crated it earlier, you know for manufacturing reasons, and I think Ozpin may have made it himself."

"Oh," Ty started "That's… Alright." He finished disinterestedly as the Professor stared at the clock.

The Professor gave another heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, right… Your punishment, anyways so possibility of indefinite expulsion." Professor Baula finished casually as he passed the files over to Ty.

"Ex-ex-expulsion?!" Eve stammered nervously as her entire body began to quiver.

"Don't worry, Ms. Howlite, according to your records and from what I observed earlier you are a fantastic student and you are in no danger of expulsion..." The Professor cleared his throat loudly as Automne's head began to droop. "Mr. Noire, I know this conversation isn't exactly exhilarating, but please try and stay awake."

Everyone turned to see Automne hunched in his chair, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Oh, for Dust's sake." Petunia muttered irately, before she delivered a solid jab into Automne's arm without any hesitation, sending him stumbling out of the chair with a small yelp.

Eve gave a gasp and placed a hand over her mouth as Automne rolled around on the floor in front of the desk. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Eve, I'm just peachy." He spat his words through gritted teeth.

"Thank you for joining us again, Mr. Noire. Now I'm going to say this again, as simply as possible this time, you three are about to fall through thin ice. Unless you three want to be removed from Beacon academy and destroy any chance you have of attending any other Huntsmen academies you will have to, in a sense, balance out your records."

"Balance our records," Petunia bumbled in confusion as Automne crawled back into his chair. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked." The Professor cheerfully beamed as he bent down and picked up a large dark orange clasp envelope. The envelope bore the large bold symbol of the Kingdom of Vale on its front and a single line of, broken black and yellow striped tape over the mouth. "If you four would like to perform a little… extracurricular activity with me, then I'm sure Professor Ozpin wouldn't mind striking this little mishap from your records." Professor Baula concluded with a large grin as he placed the envelope on the center of the desk.

Ty stared at the envelope for a minute. "You planned this."

"I'm sorry?" The Professor said in surprise as he slid his hand over the folder and pulled it back towards himself.

"You were going to force us to do this mission with you."

"Okay… first off, that's only half true. Yes, I had my eye on you four, because I believe all of you can be very helpful to me in this operation. But I was going to bring you in here sometime over the next couple days and talk to you about this under official terms. The fact that you four are in need of a-"

"I thought you said I wasn't in trouble." Eve interrupted in a panic.

"Necessarily you're not, but given the fact that the rest of your team is, that merits more than a note on your record." The Professor clarified with little sympathy as he placed his elbows onto the folder and arched his fingers. "Now, as I was saying you four being in here today is little more than coincidence. So let's get that behind us, please."

The four exchanged brief glances with each other and sat back quietly, signaling the Professor to go on.

The Professor took a deep breath and scooted back in his chair. "This file is classified under Tier 4."

"That doesn't seem very high." Ty interrupted nonchalantly.

"It isn't, but it's still classified, meaning I can't brief you four unless all of you agree to join me on this operation. The operation will be taking place within a few days, again I can't specify when , but I will give you four until," The Professor tilted his head and glimpsed back at the grandfather clock. "Until 9 o'clock tonight to confirm if you will be joining me on this little excursion. Talk amongst yourselves and let me know your decision before 9. I will be keeping hold of the paperwork accounting today's little dispute. If I don't hear word from you tonight or if you decide not to participate in the operation the paperwork will be passed on to Ms. Goodwitch and she will decide what your punishment shall be. If you do decide to join me, however, then you four will meet me here in my office tomorrow evening at 6 o'clock for briefing." The Professor waved his hand at them as if he were dismissing a pack of stray dogs. "Now go talk this over amongst yourselves. Voice your opinions and all that jive. Give me a call or come see me when you've reached an understanding, my number is in your folder Mr. Inuhoozuki. "

Ty, Automne, Petunia and Eve all looked back and forth amongst themselves. Their stomachs lurched uneasily as if the entire school had done a backflip and their faces were painted with anxiety, except for Automne who was staring up at the grandfather clock like an imbecile.

"You know, you're right. That is a really distracting clock." A baffled Automne slurred.

The Professor clapped his hands together as a large smile popped onto his face. "See what I mean?"

Petunia gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand over her face. "You know what… I wasn't going to say anything, but it is pretty loud."

"Right?" Baula said while nodding in agreeance.

"Seriously?!" An annoyed Ty shouted as they turned to stare up at the clock.

"What… Oh, right- umm, yes serious business stuff." The Professor blinked a few times and spun back around. "Alright then… Leave, do your thinking elsewhere. I have papers to glance through." The Professor said half-heartedly as he pulled out a stack of papers and placed them on his desk.

Ty gave a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, "We're all going to die."

* * *

"2 hours remaining!" Automne shouted as he kicked in the door to their dorm.

"Stop shouting the time! We know how much time we have! We were all there!" Petunia snapped at Automne as she pushed him out of her way and made her way over to her bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I being annoying! I just thought everyone was just so fond of being a bunch of obnoxious loud people! You know, since everyone has refused to give me a moment of silence since practice! Except you Eve, you've been very courteous. Unlike some people!"

"Umm… Thank you." Eve whispered quietly as she tiptoed past Automne who was still standing in the doorway.

"Oh my Duuust," Ty growled as he pushed Automne into the room. "We get it, you have a headache! Now, shut up."

"I am just so done with today." Petunia hissed as she pulled a laptop out of her pillowcase and began to type heatedly.

"Ugh, this is such bull crap!" Ty yelled furiously as he threw the same four files from earlier onto his bed.

"Stop shouting!" Automne shouted at Ty as he trudged over to his bed and threw his vest onto the floor.

"Take a painkiller and get over it!" Petunia roared as she set her laptop onto her thighs and began to curl up.

"Oh, it's just that easy, yeah?!"

"Yeah, it is!"

"Well, you know what?!"

"What?!"

"That's what!"

Petunia blinked a few times, "… What?"

"Umm, Automne," Eve whispered as she lightly tugged at Automne's sleeve.

Automne took a deep breath and calmly turned around to see Eve holding up a gray box with her emblem on it. "Yes, Eve."

"Umm, you said you were going to help me practice my acupuncture today." Eve responded quietly as she held the box up under her chin.

"Oh… I forgot about that… Alright, so," Automne cleared his throat and glanced around. "Umm, so you want me to just… lay on my bed and take my sweater off?"

Eve cleared her throat, her cheeks a soft pink. "A-and your shirt as well…" Eve began to rock back and forth awkwardly. "I'll, uh, I'll just give you a minute to… disrobe." Eve added as she took a few steps backwards and turned away.

"Man," Petunia started with a smirk, "The sexual tension is so thick you-"

"Don't say that word! Acupuncture is in no way sexual! Acupuncture is a legitimate form of alternative medicine!" Eve cried out uneasily as she tightly shut her eyes and shook her head, tightly pressing her small box against her chest.

Petunia let off a few chuckles, "Jeez, I guess I found someone's trigger."

Ty gave a heavy groan. "Can you people please quiet down? I'm trying to work over here." He scolded as he flipped through a folder sporting Petunia's portfolio picture.

"Hmm, so you want everyone to be quiet while you're working, but some people don't mind being loud, obnoxious jerks when I have a headache. Hmm," Automne snidely remarked as he tossed his shirt to the ground and laid down face first on his bed.

"Yes, because I do important things that actually help the team. Things like not putting a loaded handgun to my head in the middle of a training simulation."

"I didn't have a free hand."

"Story of my life." Petunia grumbled to herself as she continued to type on her laptop.

"Automne, a-are you ready for, umm, practice?" Eve tentatively asked as she shuffled her feet a bit.

"Now you're just quoting my fanfiction." Petunia mumbled as she tried to stifle a chuckle.

"What was that?"

"Nothing,"

Automne glared over at Petunia hotly from his bed, "There's a word to describe the kind of person you are, and it usually applies to fat, greasy, dudes with neckbeards who have the social skills of rocks."

"Well I don't fall under any of those categories so you must be lookin' in a mirror."

"You better ask Eve for some Aloe Vera because you just got burned bruh!" Ty called out with a large grin.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Automne grumbled under his breath. "Eve, I'm ready, you can turn around now."

"Automne said as his oiled body glistened in the sun!" Petunia hollered with a large smile as she rapidly began to type on her laptop.

"I will end you!"

"Please stop," Eve's cheeks a hot shade of pink as she pleaded to Petunia, who looked like she was ready to burst at the seams.

Petunia gave a loud groan and fell back into her pillow, "Fine, my boner's gone anyway."

"Petunia, put a Lien in the swear box." Eve chastised as she pointed to a large cardboard box in the corner of the room filled to the brim with money.

"Oh come on! All I said was boner!"

"Two Lien," Eve clarified as she set her acupuncture box down next to Automne's bed.

"Uggggh, this is bull." Petunia growled under her breath as she set her laptop aside and trudged over to the box.

"Petunia, you really need to express your anger in healthier ways. If you want I can practice on you next." Eve said with a smile as she pulled out a labeled diagram indicating where she was supposed to be placing her needles. "It's very relaxing."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." Petunia said with a scowl as Eve pulled out one of the needles, its long thin body shining sinisterly.

"Oh, come on, Petunia." Automne said with a large smirk as Eve leaned over Automne and slowly pierced his skin with its thin sharp point. "It never hurts to- aaaand I can't feel my legs." Automne cut off flatly.

"What?!" A frazzled Eve recoiled as she quickly pulled up her chart and looked back and forth between it and Automne's back. "But- I'm nowhere near the spinal cord." Her voice trembling slightly as her breathing quickened.

Automne gave a small chuckle, "Eve, I'm just messing with you."

Eve looked down at Automne in shock and stomped her heel against the ground, her face a bright pink. "Automne, don't do that! You scared me." Eve whined, slowly beginning to pace around the bed as her breathing steadied.

"Oh yeah, that's a smart idea mess with the person putting needles in your back. Smartest idea I've heard all day." Ty sarcastically quipped as he flipped open another folder and began to look through it.

"Aww, whatever man, we're just having fun. Right, Eve?"

"I thought I crippled you." Eve whined sorely as she made her way back towards her needles.

"See? Fun, now how about you put down those folders and come join us on planet funtime… Funtime." Automne trailed off as Eve inserted a couple more needles into his back.

"I can't, I need to figure out why Professor Baula chose us over any other team." Ty stated as he flipped his way through Eve's application forms.

"Does it really matter at this point?" Petunia mumbled tiredly as she pulled out a pair of headphones from under her bed.

"Yes, it does, because it makes no sense why he would pick one of the least skilled teams to participate in a classified operation."

"I just figured he liked us." Eve said innocently as she put another needle into Automne's back.

"Pfft," Petunia started with a broad grin as she slipped out of her capris and down into her underwear. "Isn't it obvious? He wants a team of nobodies; expendables who no one will go looking for if the mission goes south."

Eve quietly cleared her throat, "Umm, Petunia, c-can you please make yourself decent."

"Eve, if Petunia wants to walk around with no pants on, then what kind of friend are you to stop her?" Automne said with a perverted grin as he ran his eyes up and down Petunia's legs.

Petunia glared at him coldly, "Let me get my pj's on." She responded abruptly before standing up and pulling the curtain across the room to block out Automne's gaze.

"… Well you don't have to- I mean…" Automne gave a sigh, "Anyways so yeah, Baula. I kind of just figured he chose us 'cause he's eccentric."

"Eccentric? More like giant, weird douchebag." Ty said flatly as he pulled a couple of bills out of his pocket crumbled them up, and threw them at the swear box.

"Yeah, well the point is it doesn't matter what we think of him or the mission. We don't have any other choices so we might as well call him right now and just give him our confirmation."

"Yeah, because dying on some covert mission is a much better option than being expelled from Beacon, dumbass." Petunia rebutted sarcastically as she pulled the curtain open and tossed another Lien in the direction of the box.

"Look, it can't be that bad if he considered us in the first place. If it was difficult he wouldn't have considered us at all."

"That does make sense." Eve chimed as she inserted another needle into Automne's back, making him look more and more like a balding porcupine.

Automne brushed his head against the sheets lightly as he nodded his head purposefully. "You see, I think we're more than skilled enough to participate in this mission."

"Uh huh, yeah," Ty responded uncertainly as he glared down at Automne's file. "Quick question, why did you put 'Knitting and Sewing' under 'Other abilities' on your application form?"

"Umm," Automne replied blankly. "Well… knitting and sewing can be very… useful abilities in a combat zone."

Ty stared at him with furrowed eyebrows to signify that he wasn't buying into his flimsy explanation, "Yeah, I'm calling bull on that one."

"Alright, well- imagine, like… say you just got shot and you need someone to close the wound and I just happen to have some thread-"

"I'll go to our trained medic who knows how to actually tend to a bullet wound."

Automne stopped and glanced around. "Okaaay… Well say we're being held at gunpoint and the guy- he happens to look a little chilly and there just happens to be a pair of knitting needles and yarn lying around."

"I'd take the knitting needles and stab him in the eyes." Ty responded quickly, instantly shutting Automne up. "You are the worst Huntsman I have ever met."

"Well… How many have you met? Is it like a large number, because I'm sure- Ow!"

"Oops!" Eve said suddenly as she jumped back, her hands clasped over her mouth as she stared at Automne's back in horror. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Eve rambled.

"Eve, what did-"

"Oh crap," Petunia shouted as she jumped up from her bed.

Automne's head swiveled back and forth to both sides of his bed as his teammates stared at him with wide eyes. "What's-"

"I'm sorry, I must have been a few centimeters off!" Eve pleaded as she quickly began to take needles out of Automne's back, the fingertips of her gloves soaked a dark red.

"What did you-"

"Oh Dust, Eve take the needle out!" Petunia shouted as she ran up to the bedside.

"I can't if I take it out it will only make the bleeding worse."

"'Bleeding'?! How much-"

"Crap, Petunia, go get some towels. At this rate he's gonna soak through the mattress." Ty ordered as he jumped up from his bed.

"'Soak through'?! Eve what did you-"

"I'm sorry, I told you I was out of practice!" The dark haired girl cried as she continued to throw needles to the side.

"You never said that!"

"Hey, dude," Ty said in a patronizingly calm voice as he hunched down near Automne's face. "How're ya' doin'?"

"Why won't you people answer me?!" Automne screamed as he tried to turn his head to find out what was happening literally behind his back.

"Shhh, it's okay dude. You're going to be alright." Ty said as he gently petted Automne's face.

"That's exactly what they tell people who aren't going to be alright!"

"Crap, Eve, we need some anesthetics." Ty demanded as Petunia ran up and passed some towels to Eve.

"I don't have any anesthetics!" she shouted back as she quickly ripped the last needle out and pressed the towel against the wound.

"What is going on?!" Automne shouted as Eve pressed all her weight against his blood soaked back.

"Then improvise!"

"I'm on it!" Petunia shouted as she grabbed one of Automne's escrima sticks with both hands, ran up to the bed, and whacked him as hard as she could a few times until he stopped moving.

The three of them stopped for a couple seconds and stared down at Automne who was laying completely motionless.

"Automne?" Eve said softly, still pressing her weight against the blood soaked towel.

When no reply came they all looked between each other nervously.

Petunia loudly cleared her throat.

"Murderer!" She shouted as she pointed at Eve.

"What? No-I- You hit him with- the-the needle- and the stick"

"We're going to have to change our names! We're going to have to dye our hair! We have to flee the Kingdom!" Petunia gave a large gasp "What're we going to do with the body?"

Tears began to flood into Eve's eyes as she fell to her knees. "We k-k-k-kkkkilled hiiiiiiiim!" She wailed as tears poured down her face.

"Guys,"

"We could try and pin this on Sienaerde! She's crazy, people would believe that!"

"I-I-I-I killed Au-Automneeeee!"

"Guys?!"

"No, no, no, it's simple, we just throw him to the Grimm! They'll rip him apart and destroy all the evidence!"

"I-I-I" Eve gave a large wheezy gasp "I-I-I k-k-k-killed hiiiiiiim!"

"Guys!" Ty shouted furiously, jumping to his feet and smacking Eve on the back of the head and Petunia across the face. "He's not dead!"

Petunia stared down at him for a couple of seconds, casually leaned over, put her fingers to his throat, and blinked a few times after realizing he still had a soft pulse. "… Oh, well then… We should probably get him some medical attention."

Eve quickly got to her feet, still sniffling a bit, pulled her handkerchief out of her jacket and dabbed her eyes. "M-maybe we should have checked for a pulse first."

"Yeah… We probably should have." Petunia agreed blankly as she tossed Automne's escrima stick aside.

Ty glanced between the two of them flatly, "Alright, Eve, since you didn't start making plans to flee the Kingdom after supposedly murdering a teammate I'm leaving you in charge of taking Automne down to the Infirmary." Ty said as he stepped past Eve, grabbed their folders off of his bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Petunia asked curiously as Eve dabbed blood off of her face.

"I'm going to go tell Professor Baula that we're going with him on that mission. Honestly it's a miracle we haven't killed each other already so this mission is probably going to be some retard's idea of a classified mission."

"Hey," Petunia said indignantly as she crossed her arms. "You saying we can barely handle retard work?"

"Mentally deficient," Eve interjected softly.

"Shut up." Petunia said flatly as she maintained a constant bitter glare off with Ty. "We are fully capable, well-trained, and educated and I think-"

"I think Automne may have a concussion… again." Eve said weakly as lifted Automne's eyelid and shined a flashlight into it.

Ty and Petunia gave a simultaneous heavy sigh.

"You two can deal with that. I'm going to go talk to the Professor." An almost livid Ty responded before walking out of the room, muttering things about short buses under his breath.

Petunia gave a loud groan as she slapped a hand to her face. "Dust, what a jackass."

"Petunia, put five more Lien in the box."

"Dust damn it, Eve!"

"Today was stupid." Automne bitterly gurgled from his pillow as the blood soaked towels on his back gradually turned a stagnant brownish red.


	11. Extracurriculars are very important

Professor Baula's green eyes scanned over the four members of Team Taupe as he pulled out the same orange folder from the other day and placed it upon his desk. His office was unusually dim, mostly due to the fact that for some incomprehensible reason he had shut the lights off and pushed a stack of cardboard boxes labeled "Maps Misc." against the window meaning all the light in the room was emanating off of a small desk lamp. The Professor cleared his throat as he stroked his index finger against the folder, a little too sensually.

"I am very glad that all of you chose to join me on this operation. So let's-"

"You really gave us no other options so it's much less us choosing to join you and more us making the least horrible decision. Honestly, this is borderline blackmail and we should really be taking this to Professor Ozpin." Ty said flatly as he stared at Professor Baula with disdain.

The Professor gave a soft sigh and reclined back in his chair. "You are… by far one of the most self-absorbed students I have ever met, and I've worked here for six years… I just thought I'd let you know that. Anyways, so- Mr. Noire," Baula stopped again as he stared at Automne, who was sitting in his chair silently staring through Professor Baula. "Why do you look so pale?"

"Oh," Automne slurred as he sprang to life. "It's-it's nothing. There was just- an accident, kind of, and I, uh, got stabbed in the heart." Eve shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "N-no worries or anything… I had a blood transfusion-thing and I'm good now." Automne finished with a forced and awkward thumbs-up as he slurred and sputtered out his explanation.

The Professor blinked a couple times in response before leaning forward against his desk and running a hand through his hair. "Alright then… So, now that… that is out of the way, let's get started." The Professor said grandiosely as he poked his fingers into the folder and pulled out a thin stack of papers.

"About two months ago someone stole the Head Chairman's chips."

Everyone stared at the Professor in complete befuddlement.

"What?"

"Chips," The Professor clarified as though he saw absolutely no issue with what he just said. "Sliced, salted, baked potato chips. Occasionally seasoned and-"

"Yeah, yeah, we know what chips are, but why the hell is this important?" Ty stressed with raised eyebrows.

"What kind of chips were they?" Eve asked politely.

"I hear they were barbecue."

"Oh, well if they were barbecue." Petunia sarcastically quipped as Automne swayed in his chair a bit.

"Look, I'm getting to the important part."

"The chips aren't important?" A completely surprised Eve asked as she placed a hand on Automne's shoulder to prevent him from swaying.

"They're not very important. Now, it was later discovered that the chips were stolen by a recon pilot by the name of Smithyson."

"This is the stupidest briefing I've ever heard and that's the stupidest name I've ever heard." Ty interrupted tiredly

"Shut up, anyways, Smithyson was recently engaged to the daughter of another politician so there was no chance for the Chairman to discharge Smithyson."

"How is this important?!" Ty shouted as an utterly bored Petunia and a completely absorbed Eve stared on while Automne sat slumped back in his chair.

"Do you want to get expelled? Because I can send that paperwork through right now."

Ty gave a heavy groan and began to murmur under his breath.

The Professor glared at him for a moment. "Alright… So what ended up happening is the Chairman increased the range of Smithyson's patrol routes as a punishment and Smithyson ended up discovering what appears to be a small, unlicensed, undocumented organization holding up in an abandoned weather station two hours east of Vale."

Ty stared at the Professor, completely perplexed "Why didn't you just start there?"

"To build context." Baula said with a large grin "Now then, while the identity of the organization still remains a mystery, further reconnaissance has revealed that the group is armed with military-grade weaponry and appears to be in possession of illegally obtained weapons and Dust which we believe they are intending to sell on the black market. So, after some executive decisions and a few back-and-forths it was decided that a small, covert team be sent in to find the weapons and Dust, and destroy them along with the station after performing some quick sleuthing to discover what they can about the squatters." Professor Baula finished with a smile as he reclined back in his chair, placing his boots onto his desk and pushing the papers towards the slightly awe-struck, but mostly confused, team.

Ty's eyes darted to the papers, "So why are we doing this? This operation sounds like something a qualified team of Huntsmen should be doing." His eyebrows arched as he tried to dig his eyes into Professor Baula.

The Professor met Ty's gaze for a moment before rolling his eyes and giving a heavy sigh. "And there lies the issue. The station legally doesn't belong to the kingdom of Vale. The founder of the station was a legal citizen of Vacuo and the station was built in a period where things like land rights weren't regulated very well." Professor Baula gave a heavy groan. "So, right now there's a bit of a dispute over which Kingdom technically owns the land. And since sending in a team of Huntsmen is a government regulated action there's nothing either kingdom can do until this dispute is settled."

A broad grin crossed the Professor's lips as he scooted forward in his chair and pointed a finger at Ty. "However, you four aren't huntsmen, you're just students. So if you four just happen to go unaccounted for a few hours while I go out to 'examine the station' from the air we can waltz right past the bureaucrats and politicians and clear out the squatters in no time."

"Hold on, if no one can get involved, why are you allowed to examine the station?" Ty said skeptically as he nudged forward in his seat.

"Because, Mr. Inuhoozuki, I am Beacon's expert Cartographer and this dispute has graciously been passed down to me for my 'expert opinion'." The Professor stressed with air quotes as he ran his hand over the documents again.

Petunia blinked a few times, "Cartographer? What does-"

"It means he's good with maps." Automne said listlessly from a slouched position in his chair.

"What, so basically you're a GPS?" Petunia scoffed as she raised an eyebrow at the Professor.

The Professor chuckled a bit. "Ms. Kapelle, knowing the lay of the land has always been the first step to winning a war." He said with a large smile as he sat up in his chair proudly. "As for legal disputes though… Eh, I guess my skills aren't completely wasted on those."

"May I see those files?" Ty said suddenly as he held his hand out to the Professor.

Baula paused for a moment as he glanced down at the file. "I suppose so." He muttered almost unconfidently as he lifted the papers and passed them to Ty who quickly snatched them away.

Ty's eyes scanned over the papers rapidly as the others looked on disinterestedly.

"Anyways, we don't know the exact location of the weapons cache, but after looking over some old blueprints I was able to find the location of what appears to be the station's security office. If we can get into that office we can gain access to the station's security cameras and locate the cache in a matter of minutes."

"Okay, what the hell?" Ty erupted as he frowned at the documents, the corners crinkling loudly as he held them in an almost vice like grip.

Baula gave a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose while muttering something under his breath. "Is something wrong?"

"Hell yeah something's wrong, these documents say almost nothing about your squatters. No definite number of how many, no models of the weapons they're using and certainly nothing about how large this cache is supposed to be or if it's even still there."

"Alright, calm down." The Professor urged as he held his hands up defensively. "First off, we need not worry about their numbers because this mission is one-hundred percent stealth and if all goes according to plan then we should only be dealing with less than a dozen or so. As for the cache, it's there."

"How do we know that?" Ty said, glowering at the Professor.

Baula looked around between the four of them before giving a small sigh. "It's mostly speculation."

Ty and Petunia gave a simultaneous groan.

"You're sending us on a suicide mission." Ty raved as he got out of his seat and headed for the door.

"Yeah, that's fine, not like we should know what we're up against or anything." Petunia moaned as she crossed her arms and slouched back in her chair.

"Alright, that's enough." The Professor quickly rose up out of his chair and slammed his hands against his desk. "Mr. Inuhoozuki, sit down now, or I will order your arrest for compromising a classified Government operation." Ty turned on the ball of his heel and glared back at the Professor from across the dark office.

"Do it, bitch." Ty said defiantly as he stared back at the Professor, spite visible in the very way he stood. Stark silence quickly filled the room as they stared each other down.

"Y'know… I just want to point out that I'm completely fine with what's been said so far." Automne slurred from the floor, due to the fact that he slid out of his chair at some point in the conversation.

"Ty," Eve said sweetly as she turned in her chair to look over at her leader. "Can you please listen to what the Professor has to say?"

The room went silent as time slowly ticked by. Ty's glasses shimmering slightly as he lowered his gaze to the floor. He slowly began to walk back towards his chair. "Fine, but if I hear one more ounce of crap I'm leaving."

Eve gave him a small smile as he dropped back into his seat, "Thank you."

Professor Baula swept his gaze across the three of them, he couldn't actually see Automne though because he was still on the ground, and gave them a stern yet reassuring nod. "Since we don't know the exact location of the cache Ms. Kapelle, Ms. Howlite, and Mr. Noire will be inserted onto the rooftop after we experience some 'technical difficulties' that will drop us off the radar. You three will then make your way into the security office by dropping down through the air ducts."

"Why would we go through the air ducts? That's just stupid." Petunia remarked as she wiped her shoes on Automne's pants.

"Because no one ever expects people to come through the air ducts."

"Yeah, well they'd never expect us to raise an army of butterflies and attack the place wearing cardboard boxes on our heads, but that doesn't make it any less stupid."

The Professor buried his face in his hands. "I'm honestly regretting selecting you four for this mission."

"I found a bagel down here." Automne cheerfully called out from the floor.

"From this point on I'm just going to ignore anything any of you say until I'm finished. Anyways after you break into the security office, remove any opposition and take control of the cameras. Mr. Inuhoozuki and I will enter the building from a structural weakness on the ground floor. The two of us will then work our way through the building to the cache while placing explosives along the way."

There was a brief pause as the members of Team Taupe looked between each other skeptically.

"Then?" Ty started as he gestured the Professor to go on.

"Then we egress, come back here and pretend like none of this ever happened."

"Are you serious?" Ty's eyebrows furrowed as he looked around the room.

"Yes, I am."

Ty threw his arms up into the air. "Then what the hell was with all the context? Why even go into detail? This mission sounds like it can be done in twenty minutes."

"It's been estimated to be about thirty minutes, but on the bright side none of you have to worry about this mission for long because we are going to be completing this operation tonight. You all have thirty minutes to prep and meet me out at landing pad number three. The operation will commence in roughly one hour."

"Are you serious?!"

"Oh shit!"

"What?!"

"You know, the floor is actually really comfortable when you get used to it… Hey, is this my exam?"

"Professor Baula," Petunia shouted in an uproar as Ty stormed off and Eve stared on in horror. "Please tell us this is some kind of joke!"

The Professor gave a soft chuckle. "Don't worry, it is." The members of Team Taupe stopped for a second and glared at the Professor indignantly. "You have forty-five minutes to prep, not thirty."

Automne gave a heavy sigh. "Well, that's just great… I really thought I got number nine right- Oww!" He shouted in pain as Petunia kicked him.

* * *

"You. Stupid. Idiot. This. Is. Your. Fault!" Petunia shouted in intervals as she slammed Automne's head against his own locker.

"No- oww- it- oww– isn't- oww- bitch!" He responded.

"Petunia, can you please stop." Eve asked politely as she pulled a small medical kit and a whetstone from her locker a few feet away. "Automne isn't feeling well and we really shouldn't exacerbate his condition."

Petunia gave a loud groan, rolled her eyes and tossed him against his locker. "Like it really matters; in a few hours we're going to be dead anyways."

"Petunia, I'm certain that Professor Baula will get us through this operation without any issues." Eve said with a small cheerful smile as she walked over to Automne, clasped her hands together and began to release her soothing mist.

Automne breathed a sigh of relief and sat back next to the foot of his locker. "Thanks, Eve, I think I'm good."

"Are you sure? I can keep going if you want." She said with a polite, but concerned smile as her breathing grew heavy.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Eve, don't heal him." Ty called out as he shoved a magazine into a small handgun. "If we're going to die I want him to die first."

"For the last time, we are not going to die." Automne stressed as he got to his feet and pulled open his locker, which now sported a very detailed imprint of his face formed entirely from his facial grease and sweat.

"Said the bitch." Ty retorted as he put the handgun into a holster on his ankle.

Automne simply rolled his eyes and flipped his middle finger up at Ty. He didn't let the gesture waver though he held his middle finger out long and proud as he rummaged through his locker.

"Automne, don't do that." Eve implored as she sat down on a bench and ran her whetstone over the blade of her naginata.

"Why, Eve, I have no idea what you are referring to." Sarcasm heavy in his voice as he swirled his middle finger in small circles. He held his finger out for a few more minutes to add some extra emphasis until Petunia ran up and shoved him into his locker.

Eve gave a gasp and Ty and Petunia watched on with large smirks while Automne struggled in his locker.

"That's cool… I needed stuff from my locker anyways." Automne called out as he tried to make himself sound as nonchalant about the whole thing as possible.

Petunia gave a small grunt and kicked the locker before walking back across the room and sitting down at a bench in front of her locker. She hunched forward and rested her arms on the knees of her capris for a moment, "You know what,"

"What?" Ty said, completely uninterested in everything happening right now.

"If I'm going to die I'm going to do something that I've always wanted to do." Petunia said with a burning passion as she raised her head up high.

"This sounds like it's going to be stupid." Automne's muffled voice called out from the locker.

"Automne," Eve said a bit impatiently as she tried to deduce the combination to his locker. "We should really hear her out. If it's something she's really passionate about we shouldn't discourage her or-"

"Autoerotic asphyxiation!" Petunia shouted proudly as she jumped to her feet and began to remove her belt.

Eve gave a gasp, "Petunia, no!"

"Yo, Petunia, I'm actually completely with you on this one!" Automne enthusiastically called out from the locker.

"Sweet 'cause I need someone to make sure I don't lynch myself on a doorknob."

"Oh, is that how we're doing it? Because I kind of wanted you to choke me."

"Please, stop!" Eve called out as she shoved her hands over her ears.

"Maybe from behind, but I'm not going to stand in front of you when you finish."

"Alright that works with me. So where are we going to do this? Down here or did you want to run back up to the room real quick?"

"What the fuck are we even talking about?!" Ty shouted as he grasped at his hair.

"So, dude, do you know any good videos I could watch? Because my subscription to 'Tastiezz' expired a couple days ago." Petunia shouted as she threw her belt onto her shoulder.

"No, I was just gonna think about that girl with the green hair from our biology class. You know the one with the cowboy hat."

"Aww, yeah, she's hot."

"Because I'm happy! Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof!" Eve started singing loudly as tears began to bud in the corners of her eyes.

"This chapter is spiraling out of control!" Ty shouted as he raised his sidearm into the air in an attempt to regain control of the situation

"Aloha snack bar!" Automne shouted as he burst out of his locker with a flare in each hand

* * *

"I'll do it! Don't make me do it!" Automne threatened as he held a bottle of water over an electrical socket.

"You fool, you'll kill us all!" Petunia shouted, her belt tied around her neck like a noose.

"And victory is in a simple soul!"

"Eve, you're getting too Meta!" Automne shouted as Eve finished yet another song.

"I am the Meta!" Ty shouted as he jumped out of a locker wearing a helmet with a large gold visor.

"Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep."

Everyone stopped for a moment as Ty took his Scroll off of his belt and glared at the screen from behind his helmet.

"We have ten minutes to get to the landing pad." Ty said casually as he removed his helmet and tossed it across the locker room.

"Aww, and we were just about to get to the part where Macbeth talks to the witches." Automne whined as he dropped the water bottle to the floor and walked over to his locker, which had been launched into the wall at some point.

"Wait, I thought we were reenacting The Happening." Petunia said calmly as she removed her belt from around her bruised neck.

"What? Noooo." Automne remarked with a smirk as Petunia started to count the shells in her bandolier.

"I swear someone said we were doing The Happening." Petunia said skeptically as she pulled a small laptop out of her bullet riddled locker and attempted to stuff it into her jacket.

"No, no one said that… but that would explain why Lady Macbeth got killed by a tree." Automne mumbled as he pried his locker open and pulled out a small briefcase and a couple of pistol magazines.

"Come on guys, let's go." Ty said impatiently as he stood near the exit along with Eve who was holding her ridiculously large weapon in both hands down by her waist.

Petunia rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath as she sheathed her axe on her back. "Keep your shirt on, man, we're coming."

"Bow chicka bow wow." Automne muttered with a large smirk as he shoved his magazines into a pouch on his vest and made his way over to the exit.

"Hehe, gross." Ty chuckled as he turned and began to walk out as Petunia vaulted over a locker and joined them.

"Yes, it is gross." Eve said with a pout as she quickly shuffled down the hall while very noticeably avoiding eye contact with Automne and Petunia.

"Uhhh, Eve, stop being such a prude." Petunia griped as she casually swayed over to the girl and lightly elbowed her in the ribs.

"Yeah, come on, Eve, lighten up a bit." A wide smirk spread across Automne's mouth as he followed on her heels.

"Yeah, Eve, there's nothing wrong with laying down after a long stressful day and rubbing one out."

"That's disgusting." Eve said as she quickly sidestepped away from the girl.

"Well, that basically makes you a terrorist, Eve." Ty interjected as he looked back at Eve.

Eve quickly began to turn red as she strode forward past Ty.

Automne gave a groan, "Eve come ooooon; chill out."

"No," Eve responded huffily.

"Come ooooooon, if you chill then maybe I'll take you bowling later." Automne said with his most persuasive, forced grin.

"But I don't like bowling." Eve said childishly as they reached the doors at the end of the hall and pushed them open.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, how can you not like bowling?" An almost unreasonably offended Automne blurted out.

"I thought we were talking about masturbation." Petunia interrupted with a raised eyebrow as she scratched at her stomach between her bandoliers.

"Yeah, we'll get back to that." He said dismissively as they made their way down a poorly lit pathway towards the landing pad. "Anyways, Eve, how can you not like bowling?"

"I- I just don't like bowling."

"… Is this about the rental shoes?"

"No!" Eve very clearly lying as she picked up her pace a bit.

"Just the other day you were covered in blood, and rental shoes is what freaks you out."

"N-no." Eve grumbled quietly as she tensed up like a slightly crushed soda can.

"Come ooooon, you can tell me." Automne pestered as he persisted after her like an annoying telemarketer.

Eve gave a weak moan and uncomfortably twisted her weapon in her hands.

A large smirk crossed Automne's lips as a thought flowed through his mind. "Eve, you look kind of uncomfortable." He said with no sincerity as he stalked her from a couple feet behind. "I know, how about I give you a niiice, biiig, waaarm hug."

Eve trembled uneasily for a moment before bolting off towards the landing pad.

"And the chase is on." Automne muttered to himself as he broke into a jog after her. "Eeeeeeve, Come on Eve!" Automne mocked as he ran after her with open arms.

"No, no, no, no, nooo!"

Ty gave a sigh and glanced over to Petunia who had finally stopped walking like an arthritic sloth and decided to match his pace. "Were you being serious earlier when you said you were subscribed to Tastiezz?"

"Not really, I hacked into someone's profile and changed their password. I mostly used it to pirate the good shit onto a flash drive. I call it the sex drive" Petunia said with an obnoxiously proud grin as Eve and Automne ran past them in the opposite direction.

Ty glared at her for a moment. "I honestly hope when the government tracks you down for illegally downloading porn that they slam you against a wall and break your jaw so badly that you can never talk again."

"Hmph, well then, I guess that just leaves more porn for me."

"Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves here."

"Why aren't you two helping me?!" Eve screamed in her exclusively quiet manner as she ran between the two of them.

"Because we don't care." Ty responded flatly while Petunia glanced back over her shoulder to see where Automne was.

"Eeeeeeve," a winded Automne groaned as he slowly jogged between them. "You can't-"Automne stopped to gasp for air as he lurched forward and put his hands on his knees. "I'm gonna lay down for a second." And with that he fell face first into the ground, his rear sticking up in the air like that of a true noble warrior.

"Dude, seriously?" Ty asked as Petunia and he stopped to stare down at Automne; Eve was still running around unaware that Automne was no longer chasing her. "You were running for less than a minute."

"You need to work on your cardio, man." Petunia added as she pushed Automne onto his back with the heel of her shoe.

"Well – you need to – work on your cardio." Automne sputtered between gasps.

"You should also work on those comebacks."

"You need to – work on your comebacks – jackass." Automne sputtered like the champion comeback artist he was.

"Well you got me there." Petunia quipped sarcastically before proceeding back towards the landing pad.

"Hey, I-"

"No," Eve whined as she continued to run around with her eyes closed. At least that was what she was doing until she tripped over the downed Automne and flopped into the ground.

Ty gave a heavy sigh as he stared down at the two. "You people…" He trailed off as he began to shake his head.

"Automne?" Eve groaned as she rolled over into a seated position and looked over at Automne who was now staring up into the sky. "What're you doing on the ground?"

"Contemplating the sweet embrace of death." He replied seriously.

"How's that workin' out for ya'?" Petunia called from a distance as she waited for them to stop imitating snails made out of lead.

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "Not very good."

"Bummer, now can we get moving or did you want to start contemplating why oranges are the only fruit named after their color?"

"Wait are they? Like who came up with the color orange anyways? Like I know it's just some random word that they came up with, but was it based off of like a plant or something? Because there aren't many orange things in nature. So maybe like the color is named after the fruit."

There was a brief pause while everyone stared down at Automne.

"I can't tell if you're retarded or stoned." Ty said as he stared down at Automne.

"I figure it's a mixture of both. Ya' know, kinda half-n-half." Petunia added as she came back and stared down at Automne like he was some kind of sideshow freak who had escaped captivity and died on the lawn.

"Hmm, you know that actually makes a lot of sense." Eve responded inquisitively as she put a finger to her chin.

"Oh Dust, she's getting a contact high! Quick we need to stop them before they start questioning the meaning of life!" Ty shouted as Eve crossed her legs and leaned back to look up at the stars.

Eve turned to Ty with a raised eyebrow "What? But I haven't even touched Autom-" Eve stopped immediately and turned in a panic as Automne sprang up and wrapped his arms around her torso.

"Squeeze," Automne said with a smirk as they fell back onto the hard stone pathway.

"Ahhhhhhh, bad touch, bad touch!" Eve screamed as she writhed uncomfortably in his arms.

Ty gave a heavy sigh as the two began to roll around on the ground; Eve bashing on Automne's shoulders while Automne laughed like a madman. "Sure, yeah, it's not like we have a top secret mission to get to or anything."

"One day we're going to come back to the room and they're just going to be going at it like rabbits." Petunia said casually as she took a picture with her Scroll.

"The day Automne loses his virginity is the day I wear a dress and call myself 'Tyra'."

"Rape! Rape!" Eve started to scream as the two continued to roll across the ground like a lopsided barrel.

"Automne, can you get on top for a few of these." Petunia called out as she snapped a few more pictures. "These are going to look great on my blog." She said quietly to Ty as she scrolled through a couple of the pictures.

Ty looked down at the pictures and gave a half smile. "Huh, they're not bad."

"Yeah, they'd probably be better if Eve wasn't crying though."

* * *

**Hey everybody thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you're liking the story so far feel free to follow, favorite and if you feel so inclined leave a review. I love writing this story and I love all of you for reading and following. ****A big thanks to my editor and fellow author NinjaSlayer4x, check out his stuff if you get the chance. I also want to thank another fellow author and good friend Crimson Grave, go over and check out his story "Second Life" if you have the chance.**

**Once again thank all of you for reading. Now, until next time peace out.**

**-CS**

***clears throat* Also I have been informed by our unlicensed medical team that autoerotic asphyxiation is unsafe and should never be practiced... without a friend. At least until you get the... hang of it. :D**

**... I'll just go now.**


	12. Oooh, a field trip, where are you going?

Eve gave a heavy sigh as she looked at the floor of the airship glumly. "When did we all become so vulgar and mean?"

"Oh, Eve, we've always been vulgar and mean. You just didn't know us well enough" Automne said with a large smile as he loaded custom-made bullets into a magazine. "I mean seriously, just look at Petunia." Automne gave a nod towards Petunia who had been tied up with a steel cable and shoved into the corner of the cabin.

"You're one to talk, virgin." Petunia said flatly while glaring at Professor Baula indignantly.

"All I'm saying is we're all just lazy, untalented, loud, crass, rude, pessimistic, spiteful, sarcastic, disrespectful teenagers."

"Don't forget about the acne and B.O." Petunia added.

"That was implied with the teenagers' part." Automne said, casually rubbing the side of his magazine against his patchy, stubbly chin. "The point is, Eve, at the end of the day we're all just terrible people."

"That's not something to be proud of, dude." Ty spoke up in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, I am. Anyways, Eve, now that you know that don't you think it only seems reasonable to forgive me for that whole hug thing." Automne tried to reason calmly as Eve steadily held the blade of her naginata at his chest.

"No, you molested me." Eve whined, her cheeks burning a light pink as she lightly pushed her weapon forward into Automne's vest.

Automne gave a nervous squeaking noise, "Okay, okay, I-I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to… molest you. Now, how about you lower the blade-staff-thingermajig and we'll just pound it out." Automne reasoned a bit more desperately as he held his fist up, a weak, scared smile spread across his face as he immediately began to regret his phrasing.

"No, you know I don't like being touched." Eve said in her assertive yet inexplicably adorable manner, pushing the blade into his vest.

"Alright, alright, alright, h-how about I make it up to you?!" Automne begged. He tossed his magazine to the side and quickly locked his hands together in front of him so he could beg for his life like a true coward.

"How?"

"Anything you want! Just name it and I'll do it! I swear!"

Eve paused for a moment and withdrew her blade slightly as she furrowed her eyebrows. "I… I want you to make me chicken and waffles… Please."

And with that all of Automne's fear was assuaged and in turn replaced with confused amusement. "Chicken and waffles? …May I ask why?"

"I like chicken and waffles." Eve replied quietly.

A small smirk crossed Automne's lips. "Alright then, I'll make you some chicken and waffles when we get back to school." Automne held out his fist again. "Now, are we cool?"

Eve stopped for a moment as she swiftly raised her weapon and held it at her side. "No, we are tepid."

Automne blinked a couple times. "I-I don't know what tepid means."

"You know what a cartographer is, but you don't know what tepid means?" Petunia said with a raised eyebrow as she began to grind her bindings against the walls.

"Oh, what, I'm just supposed to know every word ever? Like I'm some kind of dictionary or something? 'Cause that's like totally reasonable! Do I look like some kind of super genius who has infinite knowledge and knows every definition to every word ever?!"

Petunia rolled her eyes, "Geez, calm your tits, virgin."

"No, I will not calm my tatas and you know what, that's not an insult to me because I'm a virgin by choice."

"It's not your choice, dude." A large grin proudly spread across Petunia's face as she verbally wrecked Automne.

"Well I… I have my… I just…" Automne crossed his arms, his eyes darting across the cabin like blind hummingbirds as blood quickly surged into his face. "… Screw you."

"Someone else already has!" Petunia shouted enthusiastically as Ty and her broke out laughing.

Automne quickly bent down and picked up his small briefcase, which was resting at his feet, and walked to the other side of the cabin where he curled up on the ground.

Eve gave a small groan, "Petunia, don't you think that was, maybe, a little uncalled for."

Petunia shook her head, an obnoxious smile still stretched across her mouth. "Eve, that's just how the pecking order works." Petunia said as if emotionally pile-driving her teammate into the ground was as commonplace as breathing. "If we didn't belittle him he wouldn't know his place."

"Yeah," Ty said with a smug grin. "We can't let him think he's people."

Professor Baula gave a heavy sigh. "You four have almost entirely removed my faith in your generation." He shook his head a few times and buried his face in his hand. "I mean honestly, how does this team even function?"

"Eh, we kind of just wing it most of the time." A more than slightly annoyed Ty shrugged.

Baula gave another sigh, "Of all the teams…" He grumbled in a low tone.

No one responded, aside from some incoherent mumbling from Ty and a small apology from Eve. The cabin slowly began to descend into placidity as the ship continued to whist along through the night sky.

Eve gave a heavy sigh as she looked around the cabin. Her eyes slowly swept across her teammates and the clearly disgruntled Professor before she gave another small sigh.

"Has anyone ever noticed that we sigh a lot?" Automne asked as he crawled across the floor towards the magazine he tossed aside earlier.

"It's because the author can't write a decent sentence to save his life." Ty said bitterly, leaning back against the wall.

"Yeah, like you could do any better."

Petunia gave a loud groan and began to thrash about. "How much longer 'til we get there?!"

"We've been flying for about ten minutes so it should be about another hour and fifty." The Professor replied as he scratched at the side of his face

There was a soft static crackle as a few speakers around the cabin popped on. "Ehm, this is your captain speaking and we'll be experiencing some turbulence soon that may take us a bit off course. So, eh, please grab onto the nearest handle and hold on for dear life for the next couple hours."

Automne blinked a few times and looked around skeptically. "Wait, what was that part about hanging on for dear life?"

And that's when the ship went into a nose dive.

Automne and Petunia flew back across the cabin as if they were sacks of potatoes while the others dangled from the ceiling by safety handles like wind-chimes in a hurricane. "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-"

* * *

The speakers gave another crackling pop. "Ehm, hi everyone, this is your captain, sorry about the turbulence back there. We were doing all we could up here to try and keep her steady. Ehhh, but the good news is we are only about fifteen minutes out from our objective. I'll be taking us off the radar in-"

"You stupid son of a bitch! When we get back to Beacon I'm gonna rip your spine out through your nose then shove it up your ass! And then I'll chop your fingers off and shove 'em down your throat; you worthless piece of shit!" Petunia screamed as she rolled over to the door to the pilot's cabin and began kicking it furiously.

"Ms. Kapelle, please stop screaming." The disheveled Professor ordered as he looked around for his hat. "I think you've done enough to the pilot tonight."

"Please, keep her away from me!" The pilot pleaded over the intercom before it gave another pop and went silent.

"I'm gonna crucify you motherbitch!"

"Auuuuuuuugh," Automne moaned as he let go of his handle and fell to his knees, breathing heavily. "Is it over?" He moaned as he began to curl up into the fetal position.

"I think so." Eve said, still nervously clinging to her handle as she looked around the cabin. "Is everyone alright?"

"What do you think, Eve?" Ty responded sardonically as he wiped a bit of vomit from the side of his mouth. "That pilot owes me dinner."

"Why did none of you strap me down?!" Petunia shouted crossly as she pushed herself across the floor with her feet.

"We were busy trying not to die." Ty said flatly as he crouched down and put his head between his knees.

"I still feel like I'm moving." An almost traumatized Automne mumbled as he stared at the wall blankly.

"Because we are, dumbass."

"Automne, are you alright." A concerned Eve called out as she grabbed onto another handle and tried to make her way over to him.

"He will be." The Professor said with a tired sigh as he cautiously walked across the cabin towards Petunia and rolled her over with one foot. "Everyone, listen up." He ordered as he kneeled and unhooked the cable behind her back. "We are quickly approaching the weather station. Calm your nerves and get ready for insertion."

"If you're going to insert something I suggest you leave me tied up." Petunia quipped with a grimace.

The Professor stopped and gave a heavy sigh. He slowly stood and shut his eyes tightly. "Ms. Howlite, since you are the most reliable member of your team, I am placing you in charge of your squad."

"Wait, Eve's in charge of our squad?" A shocked Automne called out as he rolled over into a seated position. "… Wait a minute… That's not surprising, never mind."

"As I was saying, Ms. Howlite, once you reach the security office, clear it of all hostiles and then quickly use the cameras to locate the cache. Inform me of its location over the radio and proceed to hold your ground until further advisory; is that clear?" Professor Baula asked as he pulled a small radio out of his coat and tossed it to Eve who immediately dropped it.

"Hold on a second!" Petunia shouted as she rolled over and began to wriggle out of the steel cable. "We're just supposed to sit there in the security office? I didn't just spend over two hours of being thrown around this flying piece of junk to sit in an office for a half-hour!"

Professor Baula turned on his heel and went over to a small panel on the wall. "Ms. Howlite, will you be able to carry out the objectives I have presented to you?"

Eve froze up as she looked over the radio the Professor had tossed to her. "Um," Eve held the radio up against her head in a salute. "Yes, Professor, I won't let you down."

"A bit clichéd; don't you think?" Automne whispered to Eve as the Professor glanced back over his shoulder.

The Professor gave a small sigh. "I'm not expecting much from you three, but please try and be discreet." The panel gave a loud click causing the side bay door to whir loudly as it lifted open. A thick black forest was rapidly sprinting beneath them as they approached a dim cluster of lights resting atop a stony plateau.

Eve gave the Professor a confident smile.

* * *

"So," Some random soldier dressed in black and gray camouflage mumbled as he used a joystick to flip through different cameras. "How'd things go with that Faunus chick on Saturday?"

"Oh, brother," Another guy in a similar outfit moaned as he kicked his feet up onto the control panel. "Man, you are not going to believe this shit."

"What happened, couldn't get it up?"

"Nah, nah, man, that's the problem. Ever since I gave it to her she won't stop fuckin' callin' me. She called me like three times yesterday."

"Oh damn, wha'd you do?"

"I texted her and I was all like 'Bitch listen'. This is basically word for word. So yeah I was like 'Bitch listen, I was in it for the sex, now stop blowin' up my Dust damn phone!'"

"What'd she say?"

"Get a load of this. She calls me up and tells me 'You better not talk that way when you meet my parents.'"

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah, I was like 'I don't want to meet your Dust damn parents'. But she's like 'Too bad, we're meeting them for brunch on Wednesday'."

"That's like some crazy stalker shit right there." The one at the joystick slurred as he continued to flip through cameras. "And who goes out for brunch anyways?"

"Ooof," Eve puffed loudly, her long hair swaying everywhere as she fell out of a nearby vent, the grate falling off nearby her with a loud clatter.

"What the- Hey!" The guard at the joystick shouted as he jumped up and drew a pistol from his belt. He was quickly joined by his fellow from the desk and a couple other guards who were standing closer to the door.

Eve gave a small squeak and curled up slightly as they gathered around and pointed their weapons at her. "Umm… Hello."

"Freeze, hands where we can see 'em!" One of them demanded as he jostled his gun intimidatingly.

"I-I was just looking for the bathroom." Eve said weakly as she batted her eyes innocently.

The guards looked between each other cluelessly as they began to slowly lower their weapons. "Why were you in the vents?"

Eve blinked her eyes a few times, stretched out her legs, and blinked a few more times. "I was in the vents?" She responded like a complete ditz as she tilted her head to the side and looked back at the vent.

"I think she's got more hair than brains." One guard murmured to another.

"Haha yeah."

"She's got a cute face." One of them whispered, nudging one of his buddies with his elbow.

"Hey, how about we go ahead and take you on over to the bathroom." One of the guards said with a licentious grin.

Eve gave a gasp and shot them a large smile. "Really?"

"Of course," One of them said with a chuckle as they all began to holster their weapons. "Anything for a pretty young lady."

"It's too bad she's only seventeen though." A disembodied voice said, which was immediately followed by a loud click. "Hi, why don't you go ahead and have a seat right there." Automne mocked as he faded into visibility behind one of the men. He quickly sprang forward, his pistol in hand, and constricted the man's throat in his elbow as he raised his pistol and shot two others in the sides of their heads.

The fourth guard made to draw his weapon while Automne struggled to choke-out the first guard, but before he could even reach for it a bundle of strings was shot into him, paralyzing him.

"Alright, and we are clear." Automne said happily as he pressed the barrel of his gun into the side of his less than incapacitated guard's head and shot him. "Nice job, Eve, you were very convincing. I'd probably give you about a six out of ten." Automne said wryly as he threw his guard down onto the floor.

"Thank you," Eve said sweetly as she gave a tug to her marionette handle causing the last guard to lurch forward onto his face. Eve quickly jumped to her feet and walked over to the guard who was staring up at her in paralysis. "Pervert." Eve said with a frown before stomping on the side of his head.

Petunia gave a loud groan as she jumped out of the vent with the rest of Eve's naginata in hand. "Where's the control panel?" She hissed before taking five seconds to actually look for it.

"Umm, I think that's it over there." Eve said without any uncertainty as she pointed to the large system of monitors and buttons set against the wall. "So, Petunia, how about you-"

"Yeah, yeah," Petunia grumbled as she tossed Eve's naginata at Automne and made a bee line for the control panel.

Automne rolled his eyes and held out Eve's naginata in one hand for the dark haired girl. "Attitude much?"

Eve grasped her weapon with a puckered brow. "Automne, don't-"

"I'm sorry, did I ask you for your input?" Petunia shot as she walked up to the panel. "I just wanna… Oh come on!" Petunia shouted as she sent one of the office chairs scampering away with a kick.

"What's wrong?" Eve said in hushed panic as she rushed over to join Petunia at the monitors.

"Oh, nothing much. It's not like I found this super well-guarded, highly sought after weapons cache in point zero, zero one seconds." She said sarcastically as she waved to a screen already showing a wide angle view of what appeared to be the completely unguarded cache.

Eve gave a gasp and unintentionally bounced with excitement. "There it is. Petunia, what floor is that?"

Petunia looked around the desk cluelessly for a moment before setting her eyes on a laminated piece of paper glued to the panel. She placed a finger on the paper and ran it down the list. "Fourth floor… east corner."

"Alright," Eve said happily as she pulled her radio off of her hip. "Hello, hello, Sash, do you copy, over." Eve chimed into the radio with a smile as Petunia trudged over towards a ratty office desk shoved against the wall.

"Sash to Gloves, we copy, over." Ty's garbled, static voice called back through the radio.

Petunia gave a tired groan as Automne started to drag the unconscious guards over towards the wall.

"What's up with you?" Automne asked as he rolled one of the guards over onto his stomach.

"Gee, I wonder what it could be. Maybe it has something to do with us being blackmailed by one of the most unforgivably asinine Professors at Beacon. Or it could have something to do with the fact that I got tied up and shoved into a metal tube. Where I was forced to spend a two hour flight rattling around the ship like a baby in the drier only to arrive at our destination; where we'll only spend about a half-hour before we fly all the way back in said metal tube. Or it could just be the humidity!" Petunia finished with a standing kick into the wall.

"It is a bit humid in here, isn't it?" Automne admitted with a large smirk as he pulled out a few zip ties from his vest and went to work on tying up the incapacitated guard's hands.

Petunia gave an annoyed grunt and paced back over to the control panel. "All I know is I didn't become a huntress so I could crawl through dusty vents, sit in this junky control room for half an hour, and then spend the next few hours flying all the way back to Beacon with the most braindead pilot ever just so we could receive no recognition." Petunia dropped her eyes down to the joystick.

"Copy that Gloves, now you three stay put until further orders, over." Ty commanded over the radio before Eve clipped it to her belt.

"Alright, Ty and the Professor know the location of the cache. They said they'll be touching down any minute." Eve said cheerfully as she spun around to address the others.

"That's fantastic." Petunia mumbled sarcastically as she started to flip through camera angles.

"Alright then," Automne said positively. "And I just finished tying up the last of the guards, sooo… I guess we just kick-back for a while." Automne said uncertainly as he looked around.

"Did any of them look like they needed medical attention?" Eve asked as she made her way over to the pile of bodies and glanced over them.

"What- Eve, no, we've been over this before; you're not supposed to heal the enemies." Automne said tiredly as if he had been repeating this phrase non-stop for the past week.

"But, I'm a medic." Eve said innocently as she pointed a finger to the red cross on her shoulder. "It's my duty to help the injured."

"Yeah, our injured, not theirs."

"Automne, I have taken oaths and I cannot in good conscience ignore these helpless-"

"Yo, high horse and jackass, come check this out." Petunia called from the control panel.

Automne rolled his eyes, but slowly obliged with an over-exaggerated turn. "Temperamental bitch," He slurred under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'what do you want?'." Automne lied as Eve and him stepped up and stood on either side of the blue haired girl.

"No, you didn't." Eve said with a confused look in her eyes. "You said something like-"

"That's not important." Automne urged "I just wanna know what's up."

"Alright then, shut up and have a look at this." Petunia pointed to one of the monitors with a single finger. The grainy image on the screen was from a camera, set-up in the corner of a hallway, overlooking a couple of guards standing at attention in front of a locked door. If it weren't for a timer counting upwards in the corner Automne would have assumed that he was looking at a still image.

"Doesn't that seem a bit odd?" An evident amount of curiosity heavy in Petunia's voice as she loomed over the screen. "Two guards just standing at attention in front of some random door while no one guards the weapons cache." A smile began to twist Petunia's lips as she looked between the two. "Don't you want to know what they're hidin' in there?"

There was a brief pause.

Automne shrugged. "Not really."

"Uh uh," Eve said with a stern head shake.

Petunia whipped her head between them quickly before giving a loud groan and throwing her head back violently. "Are you serious?! Are you seriously going to tell me that you two would rather just sit around on your asses rather than find out what they could be hidin' in there? Maybe it's somethin' that was too important to keep with the cache. Maybe it's where they're keepin' all their cash and shit!"

"Petunia, Professor Baula gave us specific orders to-"

"Screw the orders, Eve. Come on, don't you just want to live a little?" Petunia asked almost desperately as she backed away from the panel pumping her fist rambunctiously.

Automne gave a sigh, "I'm with Eve on this one. We're supposed to sta-"

"Oh, big shock, Mr. Badass is scared like usual." Petunia mocked as she spun around on her heel and sauntered over towards the door.

Automne furrowed his eyebrows as he began to aggressively follow after her. "Hey, I'm not scared; I'm just listening to orders that-"

"Pfft, whatever, man." Petunia said apathetically as she placed her hand on the doorknob and gave it a twist, sending a shockwave of silence through the room. She slowly inched the door open and poked her head out into the hall like a meerkat.

Eve grew tense as she stared at Petunia in shock while Automne propped his hands up on his hips and tapped his foot nervously.

Petunia retracted her head and looked at Automne and Eve with a rebellious, exhilarated smirk. "I'm going to go see what's in that room; whether you come with me or not." And with that she overdramatically slipped out into the hall, slamming the door shut as she went.

Automne immediately gave a loud anxious groan and rushed over to the door. "Eve, I'm going with her."

"What, Automne, no." Eve spouted in a panic as she strode over to the doorway and grabbed Automne by the sleeve.

"Eve, I- erhm- _we_ can't just let her run around this place all by herself. Who knows what she could run into?" Automne tried to reason as he turned and tugged on his sleeve.

"We're supposed to stay here though." Eve said as she ground the heel of her shoe into the ground as she pulled against Automne. "W-what if Professor-"

"Eve, we'll be back before the Professor even suspects we're gone." Automne lied in his most assuring tone as he tried to pry Eve's hand off his sleeve. "But, Petunia could get into a lot of trouble if she just starts running around. I need to go with her."

"Automne, y-you can't just leave me here by myself. What if they send a patrol around?" Eve whined as she struggled to keep her grip on Automne.

"Eve, you'll be fine." Automne declared confidently as he grabbed onto her shoulder gently and pushed her back. "You gotta trust me on this one."

"No," Eve moped as she attempted to grab him by the front of his vest.

Automne jumped back out the door, evading her grip, and pulled the door shut with a loud metallic crack. "Sorry, Eve, I'll be back in a little while. Text me if Baula gives any orders." Automne said through the door as he used his semblance to fade out of visibility.

Automne took a deep breath and quickly stepped backwards. The door to the security room flew open in a flash as Eve popped out and looked around. Automne carefully began to side-step down the hall as Eve tossed her head around in her futile attempt to scan for him.

Eve gave a loud, defeated whining noise, hung her head and walked back into the control room.

As soon as the door softly clicked shut Automne faded back into visibility and continued walking back down the hall. Automne shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "She's not going to forgive me for that."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have done it."

Automne jumped back and threw his hands up in alarm. "Oh… There you are." A slightly embarrassed Automne said as he stared at Petunia leaning in a doorway as if she were some clichéd tough.

"You know, I thought I made this really clear a while ago, but I guess I have to say it again. I like _vagina_, not _cock_." She said patronizingly slow as she pushed Automne aside and continued on back down the hall. "And I thought I was deaf."

Automne rolled his eyes behind his goggles and followed at her heels. "Someone's into themselves, don't you think?"

"At least I don't spend every free second pampering myself and attempting to look some kind of legendary badass."

"Oho, yeah, because you already spend all your time acting like a colossal bitch." Automne snapped back as they rounded a corner and proceeded down another dark corridor.

"Yeah, well at least this bitch doesn't cry when she masturbates."

"That is a lie and you know it, you-" Automne stopped and gave a deep growl. "You know what, I came out here to help you because I'm a good friend. And a good friend like me doesn't let an idiot like you get herself killed."

"Oh, well pardon me, I didn't know I was talking to the saint of good friends." Petunia taunted, turning around and giving Automne a bow. "Let me scratch your ass and get you some nachos. Would ya' like me to grab you a foot stool? Oh wait, no. Here, you can just use my back." She turned and waved at her back as if she was showcasing a living room ottoman, a pricy one at that.

"Are you done?" Automne asked with a scowl as he shoved her aside and continued on towards a busted 'EXIT' sign.

"We're done if you're done being a whiny-"

"What floor?" Automne interrupted impatiently, making his way over to the door and jostling its handle. When the door refused to budge he took a couple steps back and charged straight into it with his shoulder; the exit only responded with a loud metallic creak.

"That's a good way to break your shoulder, genius." Petunia casually stepped up to the door and gave it a kick; eliciting another creak as the door budged forward slightly on rusted hinges.

Automne hastily pulled his escrima from off his back, transformed it into his pistol, and pumped more than a few rounds into one of the hinges, causing metal and powdered rust to fly everywhere. "Try it now."

Petunia stopped for a minute and stared at what used to be the door hinge. She reached over to the door handle and pulled it inward with almost no issue, aside from the fact that it was resting on one hinge.

Automne blinked a few times and stared at the door completely bemused. "I… Uh, I thought I tried pulling it in."

"You're a Dustdamn genius," Petunia murmured loudly enough for Automne to hear before peeking her head into the stairwell.

After she confirmed that the coast was clear with a nod the two silently made their way into the stairwell and began to ascend. The stairs were coated in a thick layer of grime and the occasional patch of mold. For some reason or another the stairwell had the uncanny smell of urine and cigarettes indicating that the stairs also happened to function as, in very loose terms, a breakroom.

Automne gave a small groan and pressed his scarf against his nose. "It smells a bit in here."

"Astute as always, Automne." Petunia remarked dryly as she stepped up onto the flat of the next floor and cautiously edged over to the door.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice."

"And I'm not." Petunia whispered back as she gently pushed the door to the third floor open. She raised a hand up at Automne, signaling him to shut up, as she poked her head out the door.

'_Yeah, don't ask the person with night vision goggles to help you out or anything. It's not like he's the best for the job or anything.'_ Automne whined internally as he adjusted the strap of his goggles.

Petunia lingered in the door for a moment before giving a thumbs up and slinking out of sight like a snake or some other kind of animal that slinks.

'_Why are people so difficult to talk to? Like, I feel like I've earned a vacation just from trying to be friends with them. I deserve an award.'_ He thought as he pushed open the door and creeped out into the hallway.

Petunia had already made her way on over to the end of the hall and was carefully looking around another corner. Automne gave a soft sigh and shuffled over to her.

"So, your, uhm, your semblance, how does that work?" Automne said with an attempt at a smile, which was rather pointless seeing as how his scarf was still covering his mouth.

Petunia flinched as if someone had tossed a flaming rock at her head. She slowly turned and looked at Automne with an expressionless face. "Why do you want to know?"

Automne shrugged and looked around the hall as if the answer were crawling around the halls with them. "I-I don't know, I just thought it'd be a good icebreaker."

Petunia glared at him as if he had just asked her if it was alright for him to sell her laptop to a drug dealer. It was almost uncanny how awkwardly tense she was trying to make this moment; her bright tangerine eyes burning into his like orange juice.

"Each one uses some of my aura. I can change the size if I want and they're all blue triangles." She said quickly before turning to look back around the corner. "Friendly tip, that icebreaker sucks; get a new one. You might as well have asked me how often I- AHHH Nnnnngghhhhhhhh!" Petunia groaned in pain as she threw her hands over her ears and grit her teeth. She shook her head back and forth like an infuriated bull as she stomped a foot against the ground. She managed to wriggle her fingers under her short layer of hair and pulled out two large hearing aids.

"Petunia," Concern heavy in Automne's voice as he grabbed her and pulled her away from the corner. "What's wrong?"

Petunia looked out at him from a single eye as she pocketed the earpieces. She suddenly reached up and grabbed Automne's scarf from under his nose and pulled it down around his neck. She shook her head a couple times and rested her hand on her forehead. "Okay, listen, my hearing aids just went insane. Meaning for the rest of this mission I can't hear jack."

"Wait, wha-"

Petunia forced her gloved hand over his mouth. "Quiet!" Petunia leaned back and glanced around the corner. "Listen carefully, I can't hear shit. So you need to take point."

Automne ripped Petunia's hand off of his mouth. "Wait, what? Petunia, what do you mean you can't hear. Wait a minute, if you can't hear me why am I asking you why can't you hear?"

Petunia stared at him for a moment in complete befuddlement. "What did you say?"

"Wait, what? So you can hear me or-"

Petunia slapped a hand over his mouth again and started to growl to herself. "Automne, you mumbling idiot, I can't read your lips."

Automne smacked her hand away. "Wait, you can read lips?"

"What?"

"I asked if you could read lips"

"Dude, I can't read your lips."

"What? But I thought you just said you could read lips."

"What are you trying to say?!" Petunia growled as she ran a hand through her hair.

"This is ridiculous! You know what, I'm taking point." Automne barked. He immediately stepped forward past Petunia and began to head off down the hall.

"Dust damn it," Petunia grumbled as she took out one of her hearing aids and began to fiddle with it.

"You know I had a feeling everything would fall apart, but I really thought it would fall apart under a hail of gunfire." Automne whispered furiously as he crept down the hall. "Like, seriously is it too difficult to try and follow the simplest of orders? Like, why couldn't we just hang back and just chill?"

Petunia gave a disgusted shiver. "I can feel you talking. Ehck, your voice feels like drain cleaner."

"Yeah, well… you can't hear me." Automne gave a defeated groan and began to slide along the wall as he approached another corner. He carefully inched his way up to the corner, the ancient carpet crisply crunching under the soles of his moccasins as he pressed his face to the wall. He took a deep breath and peered into the hall to his right.

Automne's pupils shrunk down to specks as he set his sights on the door from the camera feed.

'_We did it. We found it, and we did it in under 2,000 words no less.'_ Automne pre-maturely celebrated on the inside as he slid away from the corner and turned back to Petunia.

He rapidly patted her on the shoulder about twenty or so times to get her attention, held up two fingers and pointed to the corner.

Petunia gave a smirk and pushed him out of the way so she could crane her own head around the corner. She held her head out for a few moments before receding with a hand held to her chin in the universal sign of 'I'm trying to think'.

"Alright," She said in an excited hush. "I got a plan. You're going to go invisible and sneak up behind the furthest guard and when I give the signal you knock him out and I'll take care of the other one."

"Ehhhhhhh," Automne droned uncertainly before giving a shrug. "Why, not? Okay, what's the signal?"

Petunia blinked a couple times. "What?"

"For the love of, what – is – the – signal?" His mouth over accentuating every syllable and little movement as he tried to convey the question.

"You'll know it when you see it. Now, go I'll give you fifteen seconds to get into position." She asserted with a violent pat on his shoulder as she leaned back against the wall.

'_Automne, stop for a minute and please think about this. You have nothing to gain by doing this and you really do have everything to lose.'_ Automne's brain advised like it knew what was best for him as he pulled his scarf up over his mouth and flashed out of visibility. _'Like we don't really need Petunia. You can just head on back to Eve and say Petunia was killed by faulty architecture. No one would suspect a thing.' _His brain continued as he crept down the hall towards the guards.

'_Okay, look, let's face it you can probably handle this, but come on, dude, this should be throwing up red flags like… Something that throws up flags.'_ He thought as he gently creeped past the second guard and got into position at his left. Automne sighed internally, _'Okay, listen, she hasn't given the signal maybe we can go back and convince her to not-'_

"Lololololo!" Petunia whooped as she came running out from behind the corner, her arms flailing in the air like a crazy person.

"Oh my Dust." Automne muttered to himself as he swiftly drew his escrima sticks and smacked one against his guard's outer thigh, causing him to lurch forward in pain, and then again on the back of his head sending him to the ground with a loud wheezy grunt.

Automne looked up from his now disabled guard with a jolt to see that his colleague had turned to him at some point and decided he should aim a rifle at his chest. Which honestly wasn't a terrible choice, but considering the fact that Petunia was still charging him he might as well have chosen to drink an entire pitcher of mercury. In fact it only took about a second for Petunia to close the gap, seize him by the neck, and bash his head into the doorframe behind him about a half-a-dozen times before she threw him forward into the wall running parallel from them.

The guard collided face first with the wall, still clinging to his rifle like a baby chimpanzee clinging to its dead mother, and smeared the plain dusty wall with thick red blood. He gave a loud groan and stirred a little, prompting Petunia to run forward and ruthlessly stomp his head into the dry wall.

When the man finally collapsed after Petunia began to grind the heel of her shoe into his head she turned back to Automne. Her chest was heaving and a large smile rested on her open mouth as she stood tall and made her way over to the door.

"I'm just gonna say this now since… **that** just happened. Petunia, you scare the shit out of me." Automne said earnestly as he watched Petunia pull her shotgun off her back.

She wordlessly marched up to the door, pressed the muzzle of the gun against the door knob and blew it apart with a single shot. She pushed the door in with her foot and stopped. Her eyes widened as she lowered her shotgun and slowly stepped into the room.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and holstered his weapons. "Alright, what is it? Gold, drugs, some kind of fusion of the… two?" Automne trailed off as he stepped forward into the ice cold room, six large servers aligned in two rows sat in the center of the room while a single desktop sat on a collapsible table set against the furthest wall. "Oh… I wasn't expecting that." An astonished Automne murmured as he closed the door behind him.

Petunia wasn't exactly paying attention to him though she was too busy drooling all over the floor as she made her way up to the computer at the front. "Automne, do you know what this is?"

"Their mainframe?"

"This is their mainframe." Petunia responded in a daze as she ran her hand along the side of a server.

"That's what I just…" Automne gave a sigh and listlessly followed after her. "Deaf, Automne, she is deaf."

"These babies are beautiful." Petunia said with a rapturous smile as she stopped and rubbed herself against one of the servers. "I'd kill to work on these lovely ladies."

"Judging by how braindead that guy outside probably is I don't doubt that." Automne mumbled to himself as he walked over to the monitor towards the back. He pressed down on the spacebar, igniting the screen in a flash of blue. A small window shortly appeared at the center of the screen, indicating that Automne would require a passcode to proceed.

"Who knows what kind of data goes through here?" Petunia pulled open the door to one of the servers. She began to run her fingers over it while she rummaged around in her pocket with her other hand.

Automne glared back at her from over his shoulder. "Are you getting off to this?"

Petunia pulled a wire from her pocket and held it up to the server.

"Oh… Wait, do you just carry around computer wires in your pockets?" Automne asked the deaf girl who clearly couldn't hear him. Automne gave a loud groan and swore under his breath before marching over to the absorbed girl and tapping her on the shoulder. "What are you doing?!" he asked in his most refrained shout as she pulled out her laptop and booted it up.

Petunia glanced at him disinterestedly, "What?"

"Oh my- What! Are! You! Doing!"

"Oh, I'm hacking into their network." Petunia replied simply as she connected the other end of her pocket wire into her laptop. "Baula said we're going to blow this place up, meaning these pretty babies are goin' to get destroyed. But here's the thing, these servers, whoever they belong to has more. A lot more if they need to connect six to one desktop. So, what I'm gonna do is get in and make myself a backdoor into their network so once these bad girls get wrecked I'll still have a way to get into their network."

Petunia shifted her laptop into the crook of her elbow and shoved her hand into her jacket pocket. She pulled out her hearing aid and tentatively raised it up behind her hair. She paused for a moment before fiddling with her fingers, setting the earpiece back into place.

"What! Are-"

"Dude, stop shouting! I can hear you again, jeez." Petunia grumbled as she went back to typing at her laptop.

"Oh, sorry." Automne said meekly. "Well, what are you going to do once you have a backdoor?"

"I wanna find out who these guys are and what they're looking at. Who knows maybe I can find something useful in there." A devious smile spread across Petunia's lips as she typed away at her keys.

Automne looked around nervously. "A-are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, these seem like some pretty dangerous people. What if they try to come after us?"

Petunia chortled loudly, "Oh, please dude, these guys are pushovers. Besides, what're they gonna do, storm Beacon?"

"Yeeeah, but what about your laptop? What if they give you a virus or-"

"Pfft, I can handle whatever these guys try to throw at me."

"Well, I-"

"Dude," Petunia said irately as Automne forced her to look up from her laptop. "I need to focus, so chill."

Automne gave a heavy sigh and stepped backwards as he resigned to leave the girl alone.

Silence quickly fell between the two as the sounds of Petunia typing and the servers humming loudly filled the chilled air.

"Automne, Petunia!" Eve's soft voice called from the door as she quickly pushed it open.

Automne's eyebrows shot up as confusion washed over him. "Eve, what're you doing up here? I thoug-"

"We need to go, now!" A noticeably uneasy Eve pleaded as she pressed herself against the door.

"No can do; I'm not in their system yet." Petunia replied brusquely as she glared at her screen. "I need like maybe ten-"

"No, Petunia, we need to-" Eve stopped abruptly and dove to the ground.

Automne gave a gasp as a chill ran up his body, he quickly followed suit, cradling his face in his arms as he leapt behind a server.

There were several loud pops as bullets tore through the door and some of the wall.

"Oh, crap!"


	13. Do they need any chaperones?

Last time on TAPE!

"Oh, crap!"

This time!

"Oh, crap!" Petunia hugged her laptop tightly and turned her back to the door as rounds whizzed by shattering the monitor at the back of the room and smashing into a couple of the other servers.

"Petunia, give us cover!" Eve tried to call out as short bursts of gunfire filled the air.

Petunia rolled over and pressed her back against one of the servers, still holding her laptop against her chest. "What?!"

"I said, give us some cover!"

"What?!"

"Oh, for the love of bunnies- CO-VER! CO-VER!" Automne shouted at the top of his lungs as he tried to pull out and arm his handgun, one of the servers crackling loudly near his face as he leaned against it.

Petunia suddenly gave them an 'Oooooh,' look and flicked her wrist towards the door. With that the rounds came to a halt, well, not necessarily a halt since the guards were still firing at them like it was a redneck new year's party, but at least the rounds were slamming into a wall of large blue triangles rather than their lungs.

Automne let out an exacerbated sigh and slumped forward. "That was an ordeal."

"Automne, you can't rest we still have to get out of here." Eve pleaded sympathetically as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Eve, what the hell happened? Where'd all these guys come from?"

"Ty and Professor Baula tripped a security alarm and these guys came flooding in from the basement."

"The basement?" Automne blinked a few times. "I didn't even know this place had a basement… You know maybe we should have checked a few more of the security cameras before we gave them the all clear." Automne said calmly as he scratched his gun against the side of his head.

Eve blinked a few times and held a hand up to her chin in contemplation. "Did we check any other cameras?"

"Oh crap, we didn't… Damn… We kind of suck at this."

"Automne, there's no point in beating yourself up over a mistake. The best thing you can do is to resolve to do better next time." Eve said with a cheerful smile that only a grossly over-paid life coach could give.

"Eve, that was incredibly corny." Automne responded with a flat stare.

"Don't be rude, and don't think I forgot about you abandoning me either." Eve recalled, puffing her cheeks out in an utterly adorable frown as she crossed her arms and tried to look cross.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "Alright, Eve, I'm sorry and I swear I'll-"

"No," Eve huffed as she turned her back to Automne.

Automne's eyes widened as he stared at Eve in shock. "What? …C'mon, Eve, I said I was sorry, let's-"

"Hmph,"

Grief quickly spread across Automne's face. "Eve? Eve, come on. Look, I really am sorry." Automne lamented, pulling his goggles off his eyes as he tried to catch her attention.

Eve paid him no mind as she stiffly turned away and strutted over towards Petunia.

Automne paused for a couple moments as the room's cool air washed over him, wrapping him in a blanket of shame.

"Eve… Eve, you are not allowed to be mad at me in a combat zone!" Automne declared as he followed after her intently. "What if one of us gets shot or killed by faulty architecture?! Then one of us would feel all guilty and mopey about the fact that we never forgave each other and it would be stupid and a huge waste of time. So, Eve, I really am sorry. Now forgive me."

"No," Eve said stubbornly as she stood resolute.

"Eve, forgive me."

"No,"

"Forgive me."

"No,"

"Forgive me."

"No,"

"Forgive me."

"Dust damn it! You two are like nails on a chalkboard!" Petunia shouted as she typed at her laptop feverishly.

"Well, you're like a lesbian on a chalkboard." Automne retorted like he was some sort of Renaissance man of the lost art of comebacks.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"You're right, it makes change."

"You know what, once I'm done hacking this thing, I'm going to shove my shotgun so far up your ass-"

Unfortunately the rest of Petunia's threat was interrupted by a thunderous explosion and a solid ball of steel blasting through both the door and Petunia's barrier. The three members of Taupe quickly turned to the hall to see a man dressed in dark camouflage pants, a black pirate's blouse, and a tricorn hat carrying a small cannon.

"Har har har, thar' they be." The man bellowed jauntily as a few guards joined him at his side with rifles at the ready.

Automne, Petunia, and Eve all stared at the man blankly for a few moments.

"Are you shitting me?!" Automne screamed in bewilderment.

Petunia raised her hand and threw up another couple triangles to replace the ones that the pirate had just smashed through.

"That's a pirate! That's a fucking pirate!" Automne shouted at Eve and Petunia as if he were experiencing some kind of bad fever dream and he needed someone to throw ice water on him. "Why the hell are we fighting a pirate?! Is the author on meth?!"

"Automne, don't be rude. If he wants to dress as a pirate then he should be able to dress however he wants without your judgement." Eve scolded as she continued to face away from him. "Also no, you are not forgiven."

"Can you three just keep standing there- I mean thar. This thing takes a couple minutes to reload." The pirate called out from across the barrier as his companions started to open fire.

Petunia gave a loud growl and kicked at the base of the server. "Can all of you, please, shut up for like five minutes?! I am trying to hack and that is not easy when everyone is shouting!" Petunia yelled as she picked up a piece of jagged metal and tossed it at Automne.

Automne glared at her with a small defiant grin. "Hypocrite,"

"I will cut you!" Petunia let out another aggravated growl and bashed a fist down against the cold, dirty floor. "Dust, you two are the most annoying couple ever; in the history of the universe.

Automne gave a groan as Petunia went back to typing. "This is ridiculous! Petunia, forget about the back door, let's just go!"

"Umm, just to clarify, we're not a couple." Eve quietly interjected.

"No, I am making a back door and you are not going to stop me."

"You're going to get us killed!"

"No, I'm not. You're freaking out over nothing." Petunia insisted with a rather concerning amount of calmness in her composure.

"Umm, guys," Eve said timidly as she stared into the ruined hall. "I think the pirate reloaded."

Automne gave a heavy sigh. _'You know I never would've guessed that I'd be killed by a pirate; always assumed it would've been the tapeworm in my lower intestine.'_

"Automne, move!" Eve called out in concern as she pushed Automne backwards onto the ground as the cannonball shattered Petunia's barrier.

Automne fell back with a thud, his eyes still holding on Eve as she sprang forward, pulling her naginata off her back. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and in a long, fluid sweep, tearing through the thick air like a razor, she slashed clean through the cannonball. The lead hemispheres immediately began to veer off in opposite directions, yet Eve still found more than enough time to lunge forward with the shaft of her weapon and bash the lower flying half back at their assailants.

The riflemen hastily ducked out of the way, but the pirate, however, was thrown backwards into a wall as the remainder of the cannonball slammed into his chest.

Automne's eyes sat mostly wide open, the thick dust hovering above the ground didn't exactly improve eyesight, as he stared up at Eve in awe as she plunged the blade of her weapon into the ground and ripped up a cloud of debris.

Eve unexpectedly kneeled down amongst the cloud of dirt and looked over at Automne in concern. "Automne, are you alright?" She said quietly, throwing cautionary, fearful glances back towards the doorway.

"Uhhhmmmm, yeah, yeah I'm good." Automne replied softly as he rolled onto his hands and knees.

A couple loud wheezy coughs erupted from nearby Petunia's hijacked server. "Are, you guys alright?" She asked between coughs as a cloud of dust poured from the wall behind her.

"We're alright." Eve said calmly as Automne and her crawled back towards Petunia.

"I think I'm breathing in more dirt than air." Petunia remarked humorously. She spat on the floor and tried to wipe a growing layer of grime from her laptop.

"Petunia, we need to get out of here." Automne pleaded after swiveling his head back around to see the guards in the hallway getting back to their feet.

Petunia grit her teeth and looked back towards the hallway and then stared at her laptop for a few moments. She let out a low growl and pulled her shotgun off of her back. "I have an idea." She shouted as she shoved her laptop into Eve's arms and sprang to her feet. "Eve, don't touch anything. Automne, cover me."

Automne pushed his goggles back over his eyes. "What're you-"

"Just cover me, jackass!" Petunia screamed as she pumped the forestock of her shotgun with a loud click and shot a round into the ground.

"What are you- Gah!" Automne howled as rounds began to fly at them again. Automne quickly whipped his escrima off of his back and flicked it in his wrist. "Petunia, give us some cover!" Automne screamed as he went prone and started to fire back at the guards.

"I can't!" She shouted between shots into the floor. "I don't have enough aura!"

"Well whose fault is that?!"

"Bite me!" Petunia snapped as she pulled a couple of shells off her bandolier.

"No thanks, I don't want herpes! Ahck!" Automne groaned as a round hit the ground next to him and sent rubble up into his face.

"Do you wanna start something, bro?! Cause we could go right here!"

"Stop fighting!" Eve whined as she hugged Petunia's laptop like a stuffed bear.

"Eve, we are not fighting! We are simply discussing the fact that Petunia's a bitch!" Automne shouted in a casual manner as he shot at and missed the almost completely stationary guards.

"Up yours!" Petunia shouted, tucking the stock of her gun into her shoulder so she could flip off Automne with her free hand.

"No, up-"

The floor beneath them gave a loud crack as Petunia fired another round into it. The ground started to crumble and groan as the floor underneath the server began to sink inwards.

Automne let out a small shriek as he slid back into the hole, along with Petunia and Eve, and violently slammed down against the floor. Automne grit his teeth as a sharp pain surged out from his shoulder through the rest of his body. "Auuugghh!" Automne moaned as he rolled onto his left side.

"Ahhh, crap." Petunia groaned as she kicked a chunk of debris off of a trapped ankle. She gave a couple dry coughs. "That worked out better in my head."

"Mnnnnn," Eve moaned miserably as she rolled over, Petunia's laptop chirping lightly in her arms.

Petunia gave a gasp and crawled across the ruined floor, well technically it was now the ceiling, on her hands and knees. "I'm in." She said happily as she took her laptop from Eve, who was trying to pull her weapon out from under some debris.

"Well, isn't that just fan-fantastic." Automne stuttered as he tried to get to his feet, only to fall back down onto his knees.

Eve looked at him in abject horror and gave a small gasp. "Automne," She said calmly, holding her hands out towards him. "I need you to stay calm."

Automne blinked a couple of times as the thick dirty air began to turn unusually hazy. "Eve, why do you-" Automne stopped abruptly when he caught a glance of something protruding out of his shoulder from the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath, looked down to his right, and saw a short metal rod jutting out of his shoulder. A chill ran through Automne when he realized there just happened to be more than a fair amount of blood dripping out of the deep mangled wound. His vison began to narrow and his body trembled as he stared at the dark, rusted rod.

"Oh," He said in a daze before toppling over and smashing his head against a rock.

* * *

Automne's eyes twitched as his breathing began to hasten.

"Guys, I think he's waking up." A soft voice whispered from behind the veil of Automne's eyelids.

He started to wriggle restlessly under the cover of thin, dry bedsheets; moaning softly as he stretched and flexed. His soft moaning turned into a loud agonized groan though when he inevitably tried to stretch his shoulder. He winced in agony and let out a pained wheezing noise as if he was being murdered with an icicle made of acid… which was also on fire.

"Well, he's awake." Ty's distinct, sarcastic voice said as Automne writhed like a slug that just had salt poured all over it.

"Automne, calm down, you're alright." Eve softly urged as she placed a hand on his left shoulder and tried to ease him back onto his pillow.

"Ahhhhhhh, what happened?!" Automne moaned as he fell back and pried his eyes open.

"You fell onto a piece of rebar and fainted." Eve whispered calmly before jogging around the foot of the bed, where Ty and Petunia were standing, and joining him on his right side. She pulled up a wooden chair and folded her hands together as she stared at Automne's bandaged shoulder in concern. Leaning forward in her chair Eve took a few deep breaths and began to channel her semblance, making the air around them grow thick and cool.

Automne's calmly laid back into his bedding as Eve's soothing mist washed over him and steadily drove the pain out of his shoulder. Automne gave a deep sigh. "Thanks, Eve, but I- uh… I don't think I fainted. I-I probably just-"

"Nope, you fainted." Petunia said matter-of-factly from the foot of his bed as she pulled a cookie from a small plastic bag and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Yep, like a bitch." Ty added with a smirk as he reached into the bag and pulled a cookie out for himself.

"Well what happened after… that?" Automne said evasively as Eve's icy mist began to numb his arm.

"Eve and me yanked the junk out of your shoulder, Eve stabbed you, and then we carried your lazy ass out of there and flew all the way home." Petunia said in an almost bored tone as she tossed another cookie into her mouth.

Automne blinked a couple times before he sat up in a jolt and turned to Eve in surprise. "Wait, you stabbed me?"

A miserable frown twisted Eve's lips as sweat accumulated on her forehead. "I'm sorry, b-but Petunia said we couldn't let the Professor see your wound because then he would know we left the security room so I had to stab you so it would match my blade and-"

"Wait, you told the Professor that you stabbed me?"

"Well, actually we told him you tripped and accidentally landed on Eve's blade." Petunia said with a shrug as she chewed her snack.

"You'd be surprised how unsurprised he was." Ty said with a frown as he looked into Petunia's now empty cookie bag.

"You could have just told them it was faulty architecture. Everyone believes faulty architecture." Automne whined.

"Automne, please calm down. You need to relax." Eve said in a sweet, worried voice, lowering her hands and allowing her mist to dissipate as she tried to catch her breath.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and leaned back into his pillow. "Sorry, Eve." Automne said quietly as he looked around the mostly vacant infirmary.

Eve gave a light sigh and bowed her head to Automne. "Apology accepted." She gave him a small sincere smile and silently got to her feet. "Automne, do you need anything else; food, water, something to read?"

"Umm…" Automne darted his eyes around for a couple seconds. "I'm a bit hungry… I guess."

"I'll go get you some gelatin." Eve said happily before rushing off.

"I like the cherry kind… please!" Automne hesitantly called out.

"You will get lime and you will like it." Ty interrupted in a facetiously stern tone.

"Shut up." Automne said with a smile as he wiggled a bit in an attempt to get comfortable in his sterile, sand-paper like bed that had the texture of fiberglass. Automne gave a sigh and tossed his head back into his pillow. "So, what happened with the-the… hacking thing?"

Petunia shot him a large smirk. "Yours truly managed to make a back door into their network and we didn't get caught." She said proudly as she took a large bow.

Ty cleared his throat like a chain-smoker as he crossed his arms and glared over at the blue haired girl.

"Okay, well, not by Baula." A freshly deflated Petunia shrugged. "But me and Ty were talking about it earlier and we had an idea." A rambunctious smile appeared on Petunia's lips.

Automne glanced between the two nervously as they both stared back at him with devious smiles. "Uh, what kind of idea?"

"Alright, so here's the thing." Ty started, "Baula didn't even know those servers were there. We don't even think he suspected the station was being used for anything other than storage."

"Okay?"

"And when I opened the backdoor earlier I kept finding a bunch of files." Petunia added, her smile beginning to stretch her face to almost cartoonish lengths. "All of them were encrypted or password protected and shit. So that's gotta mean that there's more goin' on than some easy weapon smuggling crap."

"And remember how we were supposed to do reconnaissance?" Ty asked. "Baula and I completely skipped the third floor because he saw a few guards patrolling the hallways. Since Baula destroyed the station without checking the third floor he basically neglected to perform the required objectives and in doing so destroyed evidence."

"So, we're going to find out who these guys are and where they're hiding and once we do we're going to hand them over to the government and get Baula fired for being an idiot." Petunia finished triumphantly, her fists pumping like pistons.

Automne paused for a moment, taking in everything like a hospitalized sponge, before going. "What?"

"Baula destroyed evidence that could've led to a breakthrough with that criminal organization, dude. If we can present irrefutable evidence that proves the people from the weather station are connected to a bigger criminal syndicate somewhere in Vale we can get Baula arrested for destroying evidence and obstruction of justice. Or you know at least get him fired." Ty said with a proud grin as he placed his hands on his hips.

Automne swapped his gaze between them a couple more times. "Ehhh, guys, I don't know. That doesn't sound like-"

"Oh, come on, dude." Petunia said with a grimace. "Don't try and stand up for the guy, he's a jackass. And besides imagine it; if we take down a whole crime syndicate we'll be heroes! They'll give us awards, we'll be in interviews, and we'll be the most popular Huntsmen Beacons ever seen." Petunia ran up to Automne's bedside and wrapped her arm around his neck as she waved the other through the air, displaying to him a magnificent view of the roof. "Think about it, dude. Everyone will be talkin' about us, including all the ladies. Chicks dig fame, dude, and once you're famous you'll be able to have any girl you want. Even that green haired girl from Biology."

"The green haired girl…" Automne muttered under his breath as his eyes glazed over.

"I bet you'd like to get a D in her biology." Ty said with a grin.

Automne gave a small chuckle. "Yeah,"

"Awesome," Petunia said with a solid pat to his freshly injured shoulder. "Now that everyone's onboard I can go ahead and start decrypting shit without anyone whining at me." Petunia said with a large smile as she sauntered off, Automne cursing and writhing in pain behind her.

"Wait," Automne growled through grit teeth as he managed to stop rolling in pain. "How'd you get Eve to say yes?"

"Easy," Ty responded as he made to follow after Petunia. "We just left out all the selfish stuff and told her we'd be taking down criminals."

Automne stared blankly at the back of Ty's head as he watched him walk away, his sash flowing elegantly behind him. Automne gave a sigh. "Well, crap."

"What was that?" Eve said curiously as she walked up and took her seat next to Automne's bed, a red gelatin cup in her hands.

"Nothing," Automne lied tiredly as he laid his head down on his pillow.

"Oh, okay." Eve said with a small smile. "I was looking for cherry, but they only had lime and strawberry, so I got you strawberry."

Automne gave another heavy sigh and pressed his head back into his pillow. "The universe sucks sometimes, Eve."

Eve stared down at the gelatin cup.

"…Would you prefer lime instead?"

* * *

**Hey, everybody, thanks for reading. I hope the story is tickling your fancies and if you like what you're reading then please follow, favorite, and review if you want. I love to hear from all you guys and gals so please don't shy away. Also I want to thank all of you that have already decided to follow and favorite the story. I really appreciate your support and having y'all along for the ride really makes it that much more fun. A lot of stuff is going to happen in the future and I'm happy that I'm able to share it with all of you.**

**As usual a shout out to NinjaSlayer4x and Crimson Grave. They have stories of their own, so if you want go over and check out some of their content. Now, until next time, peace out.**

**-CS**


	14. You need to focus on your work

"I hate dolphins." Automne said with a soft sigh, his chin perched tiredly in his hand like a fat rooster. "I just think dolphins are terrible people. Like, first of all everyone loves them. They're all like 'Oh look at the dolphin it's so cuuuute'." He mocked in a high pitched voice, slapping his hands over his cheeks for added effect. "But what do they do? They're just- just big, rubbery jerks."

Automne snapped his fingers, a serious look in his eyes. "And they're rapists! I'm serious, the males get in like these small groups and then they just chase down female dolphins until they're too tired to fight back. Then once she's tired out they start having sex with it; they're insane." Automne slouched back in his chair, making the leather give an almost rapturous crinkling sound as he gave a heavy sigh. "So, yeah that's, uh-that's why I don't like dolphins."

Petunia stared at him from across the table with an indescribably stunned look. "Dude… What the hell?!"

"What?" Automne said blankly.

"All I said was 'your move'." Petunia snapped as she gestured to a board of checkers sitting between them on the lounge table. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Oh… I was just- kinda… Thinking out loud…" Automne looked down at the board shamefully and mindlessly moved one of his pieces.

"You have issues."

"Dolphins are assholes, you can't deny that."

"Oh, hell yeah they're assholes, but I'm just saying you have issues." Petunia casually retorted as she jumped one of his pieces and lifted it off the board.

As Automne tried to come up with some kind of response, one that didn't divulge his dark secrets, a familiar warmth flowed up his back. A small smile followed shortly after as Automne promptly turned his head and saw Eve enter the lounge.

"Hello," Eve said happily as she walked up to the table, her gentle positivity falling against them like down feathers.

Petunia gave a small wave, barely looking up from the board. "Yo,"

"Hey, Eve," Automne said as he lifted another piece across the board. "What's going on?"

"You guys will never believe what I just got us tickets to?" Eve said cheerfully, delving a hand into her jacket.

"Is it that show where those guys juggle chainsaws? I heard the show was a **cut** above the rest." Automne said with a large, stupid smile.

Petunia gave a disgusted groan. "Dude, do us all a favor and kill yourself." Her statement followed by the capture of two more of Automne's pieces.

"I thought your joke was funny." Eve said quietly as she stopped mid-way through pulling something out of her jacket to give Automne a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Eve, for not being a colossal bitch." Automne said with a smile to Eve as he slowly slid one of his pieces across the board with his middle finger.

"Bite me," Petunia snapped, holding up her own middle finger.

"Sleep with me."

"Eww, no."

"Well then, that's my response."

"Whatever," Petunia said disinterestedly as she moved her piece over onto the far side of the board. "King me, bitch."

"Please don't fight, guys." Eve whimpered as she looked back and forth between the two.

"Oh, Eve, we're not fighting, we're bickering."

"Dude, I said king me." Petunia growled as she glared at Automne.

"Hold on for five seconds, you sentient rainbow." Automne snapped before turning to Eve with a polite smile. "So, Eve, what did you get tickets to?"

"Oh, umm, right, I got us all tickets to swimming with the dolphins." Eve said nervously as she pulled out four blue and dolphin-colored tickets.

Petunia gave a groan and hung her head. "Dust, damn it."

"What's wrong?" Eve said cluelessly as she stared down at the tickets. "Are you not a good swimmer, because you don't have to worry about that; there's a lifeguard that will be there at all times and the dolphin can help-"

"Eve, it's not that." Automne said after a heavy sigh. "Okay well, it's partially that because I've never been in water deeper than a puddle, but the thing is I don't trust dolphins."

"Why, dolphins are adorable." Eve said with a weakened smile. Her optimism trying to shine out onto Automne like sunlight through grimy glass.

"Eve, dolphins are horrible; they rape other dolphins."

"That's just a myth, though."

"That's what the media wants you to believe." Automne said with narrowed eyes as he glared at the tickets as if they were going to jump on top of him. "The point is I'm not going in the water. I'll pay you back for my ticket though."

Eve gave a sad sigh, "I was hoping this could be something we could all do together."

"Wait, you wanted all of us to swim with large aquatic mammals together?" Petunia said with a perplexed grimace.

"Don't worry, Eve, I'll come along with you guys." Automne consoled with a sincere smile, completely ignoring Petunia. "And if the dolphins get too frisky, or murdery I'll jump in and stab 'em for you."

Eve gave a gasp and gave Automne a stern frown. "Automne, you are not going to stab the dolphins."

"I will stab the dolphins!"

"Ugh, this is my tenth birthday party all over again." Petunia groaned as she folded her arms on the table and buried her face in them.

"There you are!" Ty called out as he ran into the lounge and up to their table.

Automne glanced him up and down hastily. Sweat had beaded up on his forehead and his glasses were slightly askew on his pale, square face. "Hey, dude, what's-"

"Guys, I have bad news." Ty said through pants, placing his hands down on the table for support and dramatic effect.

Automne stared at him flatly for a couple seconds before giving a simple, "What's up?"

"I was checking the team e-mail-

"We have a team e-mail?" Automne interrupted with a skeptical, yet nonchalant, eyebrow raise.

"-And we still haven't received the script for this chapter."

The three gave a gasp in unison while Ty took the time to try and catch his breath.

"What do you mean we have no script?" Eve whined as she clutched her tickets tightly.

"I mean, **we have no script**." Ty repeated with more than a fair amount of emphasis put on the phrase this time. "I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing in this chapter!" Ty shouted.

"But that makes no sense we were already doing our own thing." Automne tried to reason while trying to hide the fact that he was starting to hyperventilate.

"It doesn't matter now that I've called attention to it. Your pointless antics are just filler that has no impact on the overall story!" Ty barked, causing the few other people in the lounge to stare at them and begin whispering. "In fact, I don't even know why you two would even be playing checkers."

"You're right," Petunia said in awe, clarity bursting forth in her mind like someone hurled a monkey-wrench through a car windshield. "I don't even like checkers!" She shouted before grabbing the board and throwing it across the room, which coincidentally caused the whispers around them to become slightly more panicked.

"Dude, what're we gonna do?" Automne moaned as he got to his feet.

"C-could we go see the dolphins?" Eve asked uncertainly as she held out her tickets.

"Eww, no." Ty responded, recoiling at the very sight of the pieces of paper. "Dolphins are jerks."

"Oh," Eve said miserably as she hung her head.

"Hey, it's okay, Eve. The two of us can go and do whatever you want to do after we fix this." Automne said with a pleasant smile as he draped his arm over her shoulder.

"Really?" Eve said with a small smile as she cuddled up next to Automne.

"Automne, Eve" Ty started, "What are you doing?!"

Eve gave a gasp and pushed Automne away. "Oh no, I thought we were a couple. The story is losing continuity!"

"God damn it, stupid lazy-ass author and his stupid writing habits!" Petunia shouted as she banged her fist down onto the table.

"Petunia," Ty called out as he ran a hand through his hair. "You just said 'God', we say 'Dust' in this story!"

"Oh God- ehm shit- I mean Dust!" Petunia screamed.

"The story is falling apart!" Automne yelled as he fell to his knees. "What are we going to do?!"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do." Ty said boldly as he jumped atop the table. "We're going to write this chapter ourselves."

There was a fairly awkward silence as Automne, Petunia and Eve all stared up at Ty who was standing on the table looking off into the distance.

Ty gave a tired sigh. "Usually that's- that's where the author would put a line break so I would look epic."

"Oh," Automne said in surprise as he looked around the lounge, people staring at them nervously. "Well… How do we-"

"And then there was a line break!"

* * *

"Hey, it worked." Petunia said happily as the members of Team Taupe looked around their dorm room, which they were now standing in the center of… for unexplained reasons.

"Huh, I wonder how much control we have over the story." Automne inquired as he looked up at the line break.

"That doesn't matter now." Ty said dismissively as he walked over to Petunia's bed and pulled her laptop out from under her pillow. "What we need to focus on is coming up with an idea for this chapter. Now, does anyone have any suggestions?"

Automne paused and placed a hand on his chin. "Maybe we could do a chapter where I trick all of you into taking drugs, but in the end I reveal I was lying from the get go and there were no drugs."

"That's stupid and lame, next."

"Can we make a musical? That sounds like it could be fun." Eve proposed with a hopeful smile.

"Eve, this is a fanfic. How are we supposed to make a musical in a fanfic?" Ty said dismissively. "Alright, next idea."

"How about a chapter where Eve and I hang out and at the end I finger her in the closet." Petunia suggested with a broad grin.

"Can I vote against that idea?" Eve asked as she gradually side-stepped away from Petunia.

"I don't think that'll work either." Ty said doubtfully, but not doubtfully enough to insinuate it wasn't a possibility. "Automne's the main character; he has to be in it."

"Hold on a second, I'm the main character?" Automne glanced around quickly with a large smile. "Sweet!"

"I honestly don't know why." Ty said flatly as he began to type on the laptop. "Petunia and Eve both have more personality than you."

"Well, I have twice as much personality than you so that makes me the most relatable person on the team." Automne snidely brushed him off… like the emotionally insecure virgin he was.

Automne stopped and looked straight up. "What did that say?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't see anything." Ty mocked as he continued to type… his devilishly handsome jawline and his positively rippling muscles-

"Stop blowing yourself!" Automne shouted as he ran up and tried to yank Petunia's laptop from Ty's hands.

"Never!"

"Idiots!" Petunia hollered as she ran up, kicked Automne in the crotch, and slapped Ty across the face. Yanking her laptop from Ty's hands with a scowl she pressed it against her chest. "You're going to hurt my baby. Now, how about you two shut up, because I have an awesome idea for a chapter."

"Well, fire away." Ty said as he rubbed the side of his face.

"Alright, but you guys have to hear me out on this one." She said hesitantly as she stepped over to her bed and placed her laptop down.

"Just say it already." Automne croaked in pain.

Petunia turned and clapped her hands together. "Let's make a porno!"

"I'm in." Ty responded with a casual hand raise.

"Me too." A completely invigorated Automne responded as he tried to straighten himself out.

"No," Eve shouted with a stomp of her foot. "We are not making pornography!"

Petunia gave an exacerbated sigh and slinked her way over to the dark haired girl. "Come on, Eve, you're going to be the star."

"Whoa, hold up, Eve is not going to be in the video." Automne tried to assert with the crossing of his arms.

"Umm, yeah she is." Petunia said condescendingly, Eve writhing uncomfortably under her arm. "Dude, do you know how much people would pay to see her deflowering?"

"No one is going to deflower me!" Eve whined as she tried to push Petunia away.

"You're right, Eve. It's not going to be one person; we're going to have a three-way!" Petunia said with an audacious smile as she pulled Eve in closer. "It's just going to be you, me, and Ty."

Automne shot Petunia a scowl. "Hey, what about me?"

"Who do you think's gonna work the camera?"

Automne gave a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Quietly he made his way over to Petunia's bed and picked up her laptop.

"I hate you people." Automne murmured to himself as he opened the laptop and began to type.

"Hey, what're you-" Ty stopped as his Scroll vibrated loudly. He curiously lifted it off his belt and swiped his finger across the screen a few times. "Hey, guys, the new chapter just came in."

"Gee, Ty, what's it say, old buddy of mine?" Automne asked sarcastically as he set Petunia's laptop down on her bed.

"It says we're going to 'Watch Friends together on the lounge couch while wearing… Snuggies?'" Ty looked off into the distance, confused as an average Joe looking at a fur-suiter for the first time. "What the hell's a 'Snuggie'?"

"Oh, it's like a blanket with sleeves. I got about a dozen of 'em." Petunia said coolly removing her arm from around Eve and pointing over to one of her suitcases. "Come on, I'll show you."

Automne gave a half-smile and sat himself on Petunia's bed as her and Ty made their way across the room.

"Automne," Eve said softly as she sat down next to him on the bed. "How did you do that?"

"Easy," Automne said tiredly as he passed Eve the laptop. "I just wrote in a line where the author sends Ty the new _'chapter'_."

"Oh," Eve said in surprise as she ran her finger across the completely unresponsive trackpad.

"Trackpads don't work if you're wearing gloves, Eve." Automne mumbled as he tried to nestle himself into Petunia's bedsheets.

Eve gave a small disappointed sigh. "It works sometimes… Hey, Automne."

"Yep,"

"Thank you,"

"For what?" Automne slurred as he mustered up the strength pry an eye open.

"For not letting them violate me." She responded with an almost unsettlingly familiar tone, as if it were some sort of common phrase.

Automne gave a small chortle. "You don't have to thank me for that, Eve."

"Oh... Well, thanks anyway." Eve said graciously, holding her fist out for a fist bump.

Automne gave her an amused smile and gave her fist a light bump. "No prob, Bob."

"Alright, who's ready to go watch 'Friends'?" Petunia boomed ecstatically as she walked up wearing an orange Snuggie.

"I've never actually seen 'Friends'." Eve said happily as she got to her feet.

"Well then, prepare to be mildly surprised." Ty quipped as he tossed Eve a zebra print Snuggie two sizes too large for her. "Automne, dude, do you want brown or plaid?"

"Give me a minute, I'm still trying to determine whether this chapter is canon or not." Automne grumbled tiredly as he wriggled on top of Petunia's comforter.

"Well, we didn't do jack and all we really learned is that you hate dolphins and Eve has never seen 'Friends'. So, who gives a shit?"

Automne paused for a moment. "Eh, that's good enough for me." He said with a shrug, sitting up with a large smirk. "Ty, toss me the brown one."

"Sure, you don't want plaid?"

"Do I look like a hipster to you?" Automne said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but you look like a bitch."

"Burn," Petunia snapped with a large smile as she grabbed her laptop, her Snuggie hanging off her loosely.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and rolled off Petunia's bed. "Let's just get this show on the road."

"Wait, is the show about a road-trip?" Eve said curiously from somewhere inside her Snuggie, which she was absolutely drowning in.

Automne gave a sigh of defeat as he reluctantly embraced the trials and tribulations of friendship. Which, secretly, he didn't mind too much.


	15. Now talk it out

Automne took short, heavy breaths as he pressed his back against a single square stone pillar in a sea of stone pillars. His weapons dangled loosely in his hands while sweat beaded up and dripped down his face. He tried to force himself to take deeper breaths, his scarf clinging to his mouth with each inhale, until a chill ran down his back.

He choked on the dry air, which tasted like scarf, as he snapped his pistol and ninjato against his chest in, a rather weak, flash.

'_Alright, Dude.'_ His brain whispered to him as he tried to regain control of his still erratic breathing. _'She's gonna be on your left, so lead with the sword-thing, fade-out, and then try and put a round in her when she's disoriented.'_

The chill ran down Automne's spine again; chilling his bones and threatening to suck the moisture from his took a quick breath and jumped around the corner, slashing his short sword outward toward his advancing foe; Sienaerde.

Unfortunately for Automne she had anticipated his move.

Sienaerde swiftly sidestepped his blade, and in turn thrust her musket forward; a few inches to the left of his head. Blindingly she maneuvered behind him and forced the forestock into the side of his neck while pulling the stock of her rifle into his underarm.

Automne let out a loud groan of pain as she pressed the rifle into his neck; driving him down to the floor. Automne attempted to give a wriggle of defiance, but was promptly knocked back down when she stomped the heel of her boot into the back of his knee. He grit his teeth in agony as the wood and metal of her rifle grinded against his scarf, tearing and burning his skin while his neck popped weakly.

Sienaerde pulled back on her rifle and slammed down on Automnes' neck again to make sure his face had become well acquainted with the floor. Quickly she sprang atop of Automne's back, like a predator securing it's kill, and pressed her knee into the rifle.

Automne sputtered loudly as the force from her rifle crushed his throat.

Sienaerde gave Automne a twisted smile as he writhed underneath her like a mouse caught in a trap. "You deserve this." Her agitated, venomous voice easing its way into his ear like a dagger as he struggled to breathe. "With every failure you make a mockery of yourself and everything we stand for. Yet, you have the audacity to stand amongst us, a weakling, and claim you can be better."

She stopped for a moment to stare at his free arm which flailed and skittered across the floor desperately. Her eyes narrowed and her smile faded into a grimace as she lightly pulled back on her rifle.

Automne took short breaths between moans of pain as air flooded back into his lungs.

Sienaerde gave him a stern frown and slowly began to apply pressure back onto his neck. "You're pathetic… You don't belong."

"Let him go." Ty said impatiently as he stepped out from behind a pillar a few yards away, his sword held out towards her.

A smile quickly spread across Sienaerde's lips. "I'm sorry, Mr. Inuhoozuki, I didn't quite catch that." She cheekily responded as she pressed her rifle down into Automne with renewed vigor. "I hate to speculate, but did you happen to say, 'Break his neck like a twig'?"

"Let him go, **now**!" Ty shouted as he took a step forward.

"Oh, of course, but first I wanted to ask you a question. Have I ever formally introduced you to my partner?"

Ty gave a heavy groan as a young man wearing a rather expensive looking tan suit stepped out from behind a pillar a few feet behind him with a rifle pointed at his back.

"Allow me to make you two acquainted." Sienaerde facetiously mocked. "That is Ecru Laurent and the weapon he is currently pointing at you, if you didn't already know, is called an airburst rifle. I'll spare you from the details. However, I feel inclined to bestow upon you the mental image of Beacon's janitorial department taking the next few days to scrape Mr. Noire and yourself off the walls."

Ty lowered his weapon slightly and glanced back over his shoulder to glare at the man holding him at gunpoint.

"Now, as you more than likely know, you have a couple of options." Sienaerde continued, grinding her rifle into Automne to elicit a moan of pain. "You can try and do something brash or-"

"Screw you!" Ty shouted, popping out of sight for a moment only to appear in front of Ecru with a loud pop a millisecond later.

Sienaerde gave a loud sigh, slid her rifle out from under Automne, and spun around to shoot a couple rounds into Ty's back as he and Ecru clashed.

Ty staggered forward, the rounds slamming into his back like sharpened bricks, and was immediately shot point-blank in the face by Ecru. Ty flew back through the air and slammed against the ground, his chest plate and sword falling with loud clatter.

Automne tried to force a rise out of himself as Sienaerde and Ecru watched Ty struggle to get off the floor. Mustering all the strength he had left in him he quickly rolled over and immediately froze like a deer in the middle of a twelve lane highway when he realized he wasn't holding either of his weapons.

Automne glanced around for them in a panic, but quickly shifted his attention forward when Sienaerde placed a boot down on his hand. He cringed in pain, but recoiled in horror as she raised her rifle behind her head like a golf club.

Before he knew it she swung down upon him, bashing the stock of her rifle clean into his jaw; sending him to the floor indefinitely.

'_Okay… I think that killed me.'_ Automne's brain groaned as his vision grew dark and blurry.

"Round Winners; Sienaerde Gewehr- Tänzerin and Ecru Laurent." A feminine disembodied voice said loudly.

'_Hmm, I really thought the spirit of the Dust would've been a man… Come to think of it, do spirits have genders?'_

A low growl filled the air as the sound of footsteps scuffed across the floor towards Automne. "Automne, get up."

"No, I'm dead." Automne said spitefully as he stared into the black void of his eyelids.

"I'm not in the mood; get up now."

"That's what she said… You know… because the guy has erectile dysfunction." Automne slurred from the side of his mouth with a painful giggle.

"That's it." Ty stated, tiredly walking up and grabbing Automne by the ankle.

"Wait, dude, what're yo- oww oww oww, jackass, stop!" Automne shouted as Ty rolled him over and dragged him across the floor on his face.

"What, I thought you were dead?" Ty responded in an unamused tone as he began to walk in a zig-zag pattern to smear Automne's face across as much of the floor as possible.

"Stop it, jackass!" Automne screamed, kicking his legs wildly to free himself.

Ty gave the flailing loser a scornful glare and tossed his leg aside. "It's all your fault that we lost."

"The hell it is!" Automne slurred as he tried to push himself to his knees. He pulled his scarf down around his neck and raised his goggles up to his forehead in a single clumsy, infuriated motion. The entire left side of his face was a swollen, bruised purple mess that would've made the faint of heart turn their heads away in disgust. "You broke formation and went right." Automne slurred painfully from one side of his mouth as he staggered to his feet.

"Oh no," Anger, that is to say more of it, rising in Ty's voice. "The plan was you would take point, then I would Blink in front of you for support, then we would try and assault them **together**!"

"Yeah, well I was maintaining formation until you ducked off to the right." Automne fired back, his intensity almost entirely drowning out his pain.

"We were taking fire; I went for cover. And we would have been fine, if you hadn't ran off to the left and gotten pinned by Sienaerde."

"You broke formation!"

"You were supposed to follow me!"

"You never said that!"

"It was implied, I didn't think I had to say it!"

"Then it's your fault!"

"No, it's your fault!"

"Get off the training room floor, please." An irate feminine voice called out over the intercom.

Automne and Ty stared at each other, lava boiling in their eyes. Automne, without taking his eyes off of Ty, stooped down, scuttled about looking for his weapons, and upon retrieving them started to shuffle towards the exit.

Ty followed suit and the two partook in the act of awkwardly sulking off the training room floor with their eyes locked on each other.

"Oh, no." Eve said in alarm as she rushed up to Automne and lightly took his chin in her hand. Pulling and posing Automne's chin so she could catch the light on different parts of the purple skin she inadvertently brought his staring match to an early close.

"Oww!" Automne winced as she pressed lightly against the bruised skin. He swatted her hand away and held his hands around his face as he tried to defend the injury from her prodding.

"Sorry," Eve said in concern, pulling a small medical kit off her back, and beginning rummaging through it. "I think she may have broken your jaw."

"He deserves it." Ty grumbled sorely.

"Oh, screw you. I wouldn't even have these injuries if you knew how to direct in the field."

"Coming from the guy who's lost every single one-v-one match since he's been here." Ty fired back as Eve pulled out an ice pack and pressed it against Automne's face.

"Hey- ah, easy, Eve." Automne yipped, jumping backwards as the mixture of cold and pain flushed through his face.

"Sorry," Eve said quietly, guilt sweeping over her as she held the ice pack against her chest.

Automne sighed at Eve, indicating that he wouldn't hold it against her; Ty on the other hand was not so fortunate. Automne's eyes darted back to him like magnets. Scalding water bubbling in Automne's chest. "Don't even go there. What about all those team exercises that I glide through while you flounder around." Automne lied as he tried to figure out a better point of attack.

Ty gave an amused snort. "The only way you glide through those is on your face. You get your ass drilled more than a ten-cent whore at a bachelor party."

Automne's eyes darted around in a panic as Ty's insult, which he had to admit was pretty clever, sent him staggering. "W-w-well at least I'm not a weeaboo."

The air dropped about ten degrees as Ty hung his head.

A draft blew past them, sending a chill up Automne's spine as Ty shook his head ominously.

The sensation of death ran through Automne as Ty raised his head. Automne had just crossed one of the most heinous of nerd lines and he knew it.

"Oh, it's on now." Ty said boldly, springing forward and tackling Automne to the ground.

Automne slammed into the floor like a potato sack filled with stones as Ty threw his weight on him. "Bitc-ack!" Automne, mostly, exclaimed before Ty wrapped his hands around his throat and began to shake him as if he were an annoying baby.

Eve gave a gasp and quickly jumped into the fray; hooking her arm around Ty's throat. "Let him go." Eve demanded in a rather polite tone as she pressed Ty's head into her sleeper hold.

"Yo," Petunia said, casually sauntering up in a tacky orange Jumbo Juice track suit. "Have you guys tried this Banana 'N Berry Smoothie from Jumbo Juice?" Calling attention to a white Styrofoam cup in her hand. "It's like the bananas and berries are having a party in my mouth. It's packed with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberry sherbet. I'm tellin' ya' this thing turns the party up to eleven." She said with a large smile as if an imaginary camera crew was following her around. Which only made the way she described the beverage sound like she had read it off a script.

Eve, Ty, and Automne stopped strangling and suffocating one another to simultaneously turn and stare at the orange haired girl. They glanced her up and down from her gaudy green sneakers emblazoned with Jumbo Juice logos to her equally repulsive visor.

"What the hell are you doing?" Automne coughed, forgetting that Ty was in the middle of choking him.

"I'm advertising." Petunia said simply, taking a sip from her smoothie.

"Yeah, no duh, but why?"

"Cause if I start advertising Jumbo Juice people will start noticing me and then they'll be like 'Hey, you're the Jumbo Juice chick.' and I'll be like yeah, and then one thing leads to another and I'm getting laid." She finished with a fit pump

"Okay," Ty said judgmentally, releasing Automne's throat and standing straight up; Eve sliding off his back like water. "First off, I'm assuming you haven't been picked up by an actual marketing representative."

"No, I was figuring I'd let social media do most of the work and I'd just piggyback off that."

"Which makes you completely liable if Jumbo Juice wants to sue."

"I'll just tell them my name's 'Automne Ombre Noire' so I don't get sued." Petunia waved off coolly as she took another sip from her smoothie, which was sounding more and more like it was just some completely empty cup.

"Hey!" Automne shouted as he picked himself off the ground.

"Is for horses." Ty dismissed with a smirk. "Second, why aren't you hacking those servers? I thought you said you were going to be working on that."

"Eh, I got bored. I want to chase my dreams and be huge. And I figured if Pyrrha Nikos can do it why can't I?"

"Because she's not an untalented loser." Automne said with a pained smirk; Eve gently pressing her ice pack against his face.

"Says the guy who jerks off into a sock three times a day." Petunia shot back.

"Hey," Automne barked; pointing at her intently. "That's five times a day. If you're going to insult me at least get your facts straight."

Astonishment swept away Petunia's hostility. "You yank it five times a day?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Most guys can only spank it like three times."

"Oh," Automne said in genuine surprise. "Should… Should I be proud of that?"

"I wouldn't be." Petunia said with an honest shake of the head.

"Guys, this conversation is very inappropriate." Eve said quietly, as she meekly looked between the bunch.

"Eve, every conversation we have is inappropriate." Automne informed her with a raised eyebrow. "What do you think we should talk about?"

Eve stared at her shoes for a few seconds. "… Taxes?"

Automne gave her a flat stare. "Taxes?"

Eve glanced around skeptically. "Nnnnno?"

"Hey, I know what we can talk about." Ty said with a large grin. "Let's talk about Automne's shitty track record."

Petunia gave a tired groan. "That sounds like a pretty long talk."

"Oh, screw you guys! Ow, Eve!" Automne growled making Eve hastily withdraw her ice pack.

"Sorry," Eve muttered. "But your jaw is in really bad condition. We should go see the nurse."

"Eve, don't give him medical treatment on account of him being an insubordinate douche." Ty demanded with the crossing of his arms.

"You know what, screw you, dude. You don't deserve to be team leader."

"And you don't deserve to be at this school."

Automne recoiled at Ty's words. Pain swelled in his eyes as he grit his teeth. "I hope you get pancreas cancer! Eve, come on, let's go to the nurse!" Automne shouted as he stormed off down the corridor.

"Wait, Automne!" Eve called after him as he pushed through a pair of double doors. "Automne, you and Ty need to talk this out."

"No I don't… In fact, I have a plan that'll fix this whole thing for good." A sinister grin crossing Automne's lips as he pushed through another set of doors and stepped out into the open campus, gloomy clouds rolling in above them.

"What are you going to do?" Concern and curiosity exuding from every fiber of Eve's being.

"I'll tell you when we get to town. C'mon if we hurry we can make the next flight." He said with an invigorated smile as he sprinted off towards the landing pads.

"Wait, Automne, what about the nurse? Automne?"

* * *

"Errgh, he's such a dumbass." Ty grunted, his voice almost entirely drowned out by the clatter and whir of students bustling around the gym. "He can't even manage to follow through with the simplest of plans." He barked as his fist collided into a brick red heavy bag. "Honestly, the school's application system must be horribly broken considering someone as brain-dead as Automne can get in." The bag creaking loudly as he delivered a flurry of punches.

"Could be worse, they could've placed you with a Beowolf." Petunia said, thumbing through her Scroll with one hand and curling a dumbbell with the other. "At least then you'd know your partner was always trying to kill you."

"I think if we replaced Automne with a rock we'd immediately improve." Ty said between breaths as he relentlessly beat the punching bag.

"And rocks can't stare at ya' in y'er sleep so that's another plus." Petunia grumbled under her breath as she continued to swipe her finger across her Scroll. A dissatisfied scowl crossed her lips as her swiping sped up. "Nobody's posting any pictures of me on Chattr. Do you think I should check that new site or do you think it's just a hipster thing?"

"You're thinking too mainstream." Ty said, stepping away from the bag which was practically pleading for a five minute break. "If you want to get noticed by marketing reps you want to be about five months behind the curve."

"Right." Petunia said with a smile as she tucked her Scroll into her underarm and shifted the dumbbell to her other hand.

Ty walked over to his water bottle and took a swig, unease resting contently upon his face. He ground his teeth and looked off into the far corner of the gym.

When Petunia stopped hearing complaints slam into her like tidal waves she briefly glanced up from her Scroll. "Dude, what's up?"

Ty gave a groan filled to the brim with exhaustion and frustration. "Nothing."

Petunia lowered her dumbbell to her side and gave Ty a hard stare. "You thinkin' 'bout your butt buddy?"

"Go hack those servers." Ty spat as he turned around and went back to punching the bag.

"I'll do it later. Right now I'm tryin' to get famous."

"You're as famous as Polio."

"Dude," Shock heavy in her voice. "Don't joke about that shit; Polio's not funny." She said as if she actually had a sympathetic bone in her body.

"Yeah… But back on track, Automne's an asshat and I'm tired of his shit." An absolutely fed up Ty stated with one more punch into the heavy bag.

"Well, we can't kill him and throw him off a cliff so, what're ya' gonna do?" Petunia said disinterestedly as she started to swipe her finger across her Scroll again.

Ty gave a heavy sigh and placed his hands on his hips. He stared at the floor, running ideas through his brain before an idea flitted through his mind like a swallow. He lifted his eyes off the floor slowly and let them rest upon a girl using a nearby leg press machine.

A devilish smirk gradually began to cross his lips. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

"Automne, no." Eve said defiantly puffing out her cheeks.

"Eve, yes." Automne urged in embarrassment, his once purple face now a dull gray.

"Automne, _no_."

"Eve, _yes_."

"Yeah, c'mon, Eve, don't be a stick in the mud." A man with a cracked tooth and a thin mustache butted in with a wide smile.

"Please, stay out of this." Automne snapped, holding his hand up to indicate that his assistance wasn't needed or wanted.

"Automne, we are not going to buy drugs from this man." Eve said with a foot stomp into the dealer's grimy carpet.

"Eve, we're not buying drugs, we're buying marijuana." Automne said as if he were correcting a four year old's math homework.

"Marijuana is illegal."

"Well, it shouldn't be, and besides we're not even going to smoke any of it. We're just going to plant it in Ty's suitcase, tell security that he's a drug dealer, and get him thrown out of Beacon." Automne said with a large smile as he gestured through the steps by hand. The complete insanity of his plan flying so far above his head that it was probably oxygen deprived.

"We're not going to frame Ty and we're not going to buy any drugs." Eve said defiantly, not buying into Automne's scheme for a second. Eve calmly turned to the dealer and gave him a small bow. "We're sorry for wasting your time, but we won't be-"

"Eve, hold up, let's think this through." Automne said desperately as he stepped between her and the dealer. "You know Ty's a bad leader; you've said it before."

"Wha- I've never said that. I just think he… needs improvement is all."

"He's mean, he's overly demanding, and he constantly throws hissy fits when he doesn't get his way." Automne persisted, listing off Ty's shortcomings on his fingers.

Eve's eyes darted around unsurely. "He… can be a bit short tempered, yes, but I'm sure he has the best intentions."

"Eve, he's unreasonable and he doesn't try to work with us at all. AND he stole from the swear boxes so he could buy manga!"

"Pffft, that's not cool." The dealer interjected as he shook his head in disapproval.

Eve stared down at her shoes letting the conversation come to a stop as she tried to justify Ty's actions.

"Eve, I want to like Ty too, but we deserve better." Automne took a step forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. "So, let's buy some pot and plant it in his suitcase so I can be the team leader."

There was a brief pause as Eve scanned over him with her gentle eyes.

"No," She said softly.

"Dust damn it." Automne moaned, placing his face in his hand. Automne took a deep breath. "Alright," Automne started again as he released his breath. "How about…" Automne snapped his fingers as an excited, yet unmistakably relieved expression washed over him. "I'll make you dinner; anything you want."

Eve gave an offended sigh. "Automne, you can't bribe me with food. Food doesn't solve-"

"I'll make you crème brûlée." Automne said, happily letting the letters roll off his tongue.

Eve gave a gasp. "Really?!" She paused, pushing the desert out of her mind to keep hold of her integrity. "No, I won't let you force me into this." Eve said resolutely crossing her arms.

"Yo, do we have a deal here or not?" The dealer barked as a reminder that he was still in the room.

"Look, guy, give us a minute." Automne said before turning back to Eve.

The dealer nodded his head and squinted at them. "No, you know what, get out of my house. I'm not gonna sell you squat."

Automne gave a tired sigh. "Nothing ever goes right." He muttered under his breath. Automne swiftly took hold of his Escrima, spun around, and smacked the dealer squarely on the side of the head, sending him toppling over onto the floor.

Eve let out a gasp. "Automne!"

"To be fair," Automne said tiredly, "We were going to rob him anyways."

"What?" Eve squeaked in horror.

"It's not like he'd call the cops! 'Oh no, they stole my weed. Durr, I better call the police'," Automne mocked as he sauntered into the dealer's bedroom and began pulling open drawers. "Street rules, Eve, no one's going to call the cops if it's illegal."

"So, w-we're just going to take all his drugs?" Eve said in a frustrated panic as she laid the dealer on his back and pried his eyes open.

"Of course not, we only need a little bit to frame Ty. We'll just take what we need and call the cops with his phone so they can come and arrest him. We're not criminals, Eve" Automne said as he lifted up the man's mattress. "Found it!" Automne declared cheerfully as he pulled a novelty lunchbox out from under the bed.

Automne pried the lunchbox open as he sauntered back into the living room to find Eve placing a throw pillow under the dealer's head. Automne threw open the lid to reveal multiple sandwich baggies filled with marijuana, a small money roll, and a small scale. Automne pulled out one of the bags and held it up with a smirk.

"This should do." Automne said as he poured the rest of the lunchboxes contents onto the stomach of the unconscious dealer and placed his bag back into the tin. "Alright, did you grab his phone?"

"Automne," Eve said miserably, crouched down next to the dealer. "I feel sick."

Guilt quickly washed over Automne. He crouched down near the knees of the dealer and gave Eve a regretful frown. "Look, Eve, I don't like this either, but trust me this is going to turn out fine… Also, if you need to throw up don't do it in here. Cause then they'll have our DNA and then they'll track us down and then we'll both rot in jail."

Eve gave a large gasp. "Jail, but-but we haven't done anything- I can't go to jail! Do you know what they do to Huntresses in jail? Automne, what're we going to do? If they catch us we'll get thrown out of Beacon. This is all your fault. Why can't you-"

'_Smooth like butter.'_ Automne hissed internally as he gave a frustrated sigh.

* * *

"Sooooo," Automne said tentatively as him and Eve stepped off the airship cones of vanilla ice cream in hand and the novelty lunchbox tucked under Automne's arm. "Are you still mad at me?"

Eve glanced over at him from the corner of her eye and quietly quickened her pace.

"Oh, come on," Automne pleaded as he followed after her. "I bought you ice cream."

"You stole it." Eve snapped bitterly, refusing to look back at him.

"I did not steal it; I just took some money from the dealer so we could pay for it."

"You stole from him."

"Eve, he was a drug dealer. Stealing from a drug dealer isn't a crime. If anything it's basically community service. Besides, we called the cops on him, so I don't know what the problem is."

Eve came to an abrupt halt and turned around to give him an infuriated stare, which came across as rather comical since she was still holding her ice cream. She didn't say anything for a few moments, she just glared at Automne; the crisp, dry autumn wind swaying her hair and clothes. She opened her mouth as if she were about to utter a truly profound statement, the kind that would leave Automne reeling from guilt, but then she closed it and tossed her ice cream at him.

Automne ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the cone which splattered against the floor with a light crack.

"You're a jerk." Eve declared with the stomping of her feet. "I'm sorry, but you're-you're petty and-and manipulative!"

"Hey," Fire rushing into Automne's chest as he pointed at Eve with his ice cream. "I'm not the one who treats his teammates like garbage and makes them feel crappy about themselves."

"You're trying to get him thrown out of Beacon."

"He shouldn't be here." Automne said pointing his ice cream towards the dormitories. "If he thinks he's so much better and that he doesn't need to improve then why is he here? He should be fine on the streets if he doesn't need to learn anything." Automne griped sarcastically as he turned towards the dormitories. "It's not like this school is a place to learn and improve. Yeah, the only reason we're here is to win training matches, you stupid jackass!" He shouted as he threw his ice cream into the distance.

Automne exhaled heavily as he scowled at the dormitories, the tin lunchbox crackling slightly as Automne squeezed it against himself.

"Automne, I think you and Ty need to talk."

Automne forced out a laugh as he turned back to Eve. "Yeah, because Ty seems like the considerate, nice guy who's willing to sit down and talk about his feelings."

"Automne, you have to at least try." Eve tried to reason, her anger now replaced with sympathy. "You can't avoid this."

"I could avoid him." Spite heavy in his tone.

"Do you really think that'll help?"

Automne looked down at his feet with a grimace. He glanced over at the tin lunchbox, its contents almost silently shifting around within. He raised his head to glare back over at the dormitories, which for some reason towered above every other building around it. Automne let out a loud groan. "Come on." Automne growled as he briskly headed off towards their dorm.

"Automne, what're you-"

"Just come on."

* * *

"Automne," Eve moaned uneasily as he marched down the hallway towards their dorm room. "I think you should take a minute-"

"I don't need a minute." Automne blurted out as he pulled his Scroll from his pocket and rushed over to the door. "What I need is to give Ty a piece of my mind!" Automne exclaimed as he threw the door to the dorm open.

"Hey," Ty called out from his bed, looking up from a manga. "Go easy on the door. Ozpin said he's not replaci-" Ty stopped mid-sentence and raised his manga to shield his face as Automne hurled the tin lunchbox at the wall behind him.

"You're an ass." Automne said simply as the lunchbox fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Well," Ty started, determination dawning in him like he was about to go to war. "At least I'm-"

"Shut up!" Automne ordered with a pointed finger and a bitter scowl. "You're an ass." Automne reiterated, losing some of his ferocity. "You act like you're the best Dust damn Hunter in the whole school! So, every time we screw up you act like it's our fault. And-and you harp on every single mistake we make, and that's bullshit. You make us feel like crap just so you can look better and-and that sucks!

"Do you know how shitty it feels to have your leader tell you you're doing a crappy job when you know you're doing a crappy job?" Tears of rage began to bud in the corners of Automne's eyes as he stepped forward, throwing his hands around in the air. "I know I suck, but you know what? I'm trying. I'm sorry I don't live up to your incredibly stupid standards, but I'm trying to improve. And you being a complete douchebag doesn't help… It hurts."

Ty gave Automne a flat stare.

The dry air stung Automne's bloodshot eyes as Ty closed his book and gave Automne a stern look. "Are you on your period?"

Automne paused for a second before letting out a loud chortle. He covered his mouth and bit into his tongue as he tried to maintain a serious glare, but it was futile. He choked on his giggles as Ty's retort rolled around in his mind. "I hate you." Automne muttered as he tried to suppress his laughter.

"I love you too, ya faggit." Ty said with a broad smile as he stood up.

"I seriously hope someone shoves a watermelon up your ass." Automne laughed as tears flowed out of his eyes.

"Why ya gotta be a bitch?" Ty chuckled as he walked over and patted Automne on the shoulder. "Also, while we're on the subject I slept with Chartreuse."

Automne stopped giggling as the name Chartreuse hit him like a clump of wet clay. As he rolled the name across the surface of his brain an almost sickeningly unpleasant chord was strummed a few times that Automne couldn't make heads or tails of. "Chartreuse… who's that?"

"The green haired chick from your Biology class" Ty revealed with an obvious amount of discomfort.

And then Automne's smile dropped off his face like a baby wearing a sweater-vest made out of lead. "What?" He said, an eye beginning to twitch as he bore his gaze into Ty.

"I uh… I slept with the girl you like." Ty responded with a slight amount of guilt. "We're actually dating now… We've got quite a bit in common."

Automne's heart stopped beating as his eyes turned glassy. He placed his hand on Ty's shoulder with a loud slap and began to nod his head.

"Umm, Automne," Eve said quietly from the doorway as Automne continued to bob his head like his neck had transformed into a spring. "Are you alright?"

"I will be." Automne squealed in a high pitched voice as he quickly clapped both his hands against Ty's throat and began squeezing.

"Shit!" Ty croaked, falling back onto the floor with a thud as Automne clamped down.

"You dick!"

"You were being a bitch. I was teaching you a lesson." Ty croaked as the two began to roll around.

"I called dibs!"

"You didn't even know her name!"

"I would've figured it out!"

"Guys, please stop fighting." Eve urged as the two rolled back and forth like an indecisive tumbleweed.

"What'd I miss?!" Petunia called out as she ran into the room panting. "My gay-dar was going nuts. Were they being gay?"

"I suppose." Eve said skeptically as Ty slapped Automne across the face, making him fall back in agony.

"Damn it," An aggravated Petunia growled. "First the cease and desist from Jumbo Juice and now I missed the gayness. Today is bullshit."

"Well, it could be worse." Eve said optimistically. "At least Automne and Ty resolved their issues…"

"I'm gonna shove my moccasins down your throat!" Automne screamed as Ty wrestled him into a headlock.

"…Sort of."

* * *

**Hey every body, sorry this one took so long, I've been really busy. I hope you enjoyed it and if you haven't already follow, favorite, and review if** **you feel like it.**

**Thanks to all of you for the support, I love this story and I love sharing it with all of you, and trust me I hate these delays ten times as much as all of you.**

**Unfortunately, I gotta run, don't worry, there's still more to come, but until next time peace out. **


	16. A Very Merry Team TAPE Halloween

October, 31st

13 weeks into the first semester

* * *

The sky outside of Team Taupe's dorm room window glows a vibrant orange as the sun slowly descends toward the horizon.

Inside of the room Ty lowers a lit candle into a large jack-o-lantern the letters T-A-P-E carved into it. Someone had also crudely scribbled a "U" between the A and P in marker, but considering it looked absolutely atrocious everyone chose to ignore it. Ty took a deep breath and marveled the sight of his team's jack-o-lantern for a moment before standing and dusting off the light tan jacket of his perfectly recreated Eren Jaeger costume.

"Uuuugh, dude." Automne groaned from his bed as he flipped through windows on his Scroll. Instead of his usual attire he was dressed in a light blue button-up, a pair of khakis, a simple yellow diamond print tie and a pair of comically geeky square frame glasses. "When're we going to leave? The party started like five minutes ago."

"We're just waiting on Petunia and Eve, man." He said with a small nod to the thick red curtain dividing their room as he carried the pumpkin over to their desk and set it down.

"Ugh, why do girls always take so long to get ready? I can get ready in five minutes and look fine. If I want to look fabulous, fifteen."

Petunia gave an amused chuckle as she walked around the curtain, her face, arms and legs sticking out of a large yellow banana. "Oh, please, you look like crap no matter how much you comb your hair or use that crappy body spray."

"Hey, New Spice is not crappy; it's awesome. Now, shut up." Automne demanded, staring at the ludicrously dressed girl from behind his fake glasses. "So... Are you just-"

"I'm a banana." Petunia said sternly with a slight eyebrow waggle.

"Yeah, that's where I thought we were going with this." Automne said flatly as he contemplated if the sweet embrace of death would ever take him from this cruel, painfully unfunny world.

"Hey, well at least I got cult, stoner comedy on my side. What are you supposed to be?" She said with a raised eyebrow as she walked over and flicked Automne's brown, slightly scuffed dress shoes.

"I am John from accounting. The one guy in the office everyone always seems to talk about, but no one ever sees around." Automne said happily as he adjusted his tie.

"That's stupid." Petunia said flatly with an unimpressed stare.

"Kind of have to agree; 'das stupid." Ty added as he sat down on his bed and joined the heckling.

"Oh, whatever, at least I don't rely on dated internet humor for a costume or... Whatever you are, Ty."

"Uncultured, pleb." Ty scoffed.

"I'm more cultured than cheese!" Automne retorted instantly.

Ty and Petunia stared at him, completely dumbstruck by his spontaneous, stupid outburst.

"Umm..." Petunia started as she searched for the proper words to describe the sheer amount of stupidity that Automne had just exposed them to.

"Okay," Eve's soft sweet voice chimed from behind the curtain. "I'm all set."

Automne gave a heavy sigh and swung his legs off of his bed as he pocketed his Scroll. "About time." he muttered under his breath as he straightened out his tie and brushed at a few wrinkled patches on his shirt.

"So, what do you guys think?" Giddiness gushing from Eve's voice as she stepped out from around the curtain to reveal her costume.

Automne's eyes hesitated for a moment, as he looked over his khakis, before his gaze swiftly darted to Eve. Electricity burst through his body and set his senses ablaze as she graced his eyes with her presence.

His brain began to go into shock as he tried to take in every detail. From her dark eye shadow and black lipstick making her eyes and lips pop out at him like a beautiful, other-worldly neon sign to her gothic boots and deep black stockings, clinging tightly to the subtle curvatures of her legs, he had become completely enamored. His heart pounded heavily against his ribcage as his stomach sloshed around in his gut. From her black and silver skirt, ending at mid-thigh, to her skin tight black top which ended just above her bust line she was encapsulating him. If it weren't for the fact that she were wearing a slender leather jacket Automne would have surely collapsed from sensory overload.

"You look nice." Ty responded promptly while Automne's mouth hung agape in the background.

"Yeah, you look good." Petunia concurred as she looked Eve up and down quickly.

"Automne," Automne's heart skipped a beat as Eve turned to him, her periwinkle eyes watching him with joyful anticipation. "How do I look?"

Automne swallowed hard. "Um... ah-umm." Automne cleared his throat heavily as he tried to restart his brain. "Umm... w-what?"

"My costume," Eve clarified cheerfully as she tugged on the sides of her skirt with a smile, her deep black gloves snuggly clinging to her delicate hands. "I'm a Goth girl. What do you think?"

"Umm, it's- uh... You're...," Automne rubbed at the back of his head and steadily eased his gaze away from Eve, his cheeks burning a bright red. "Umm, hey- uh, aren't we running late? I think we should get on down there, to the dance, before they- uh- close the doors or something."

Eve's warm smile quickly vanished from her face as unquenched curiosity filled her countenance. "Automne, are you-"

"We don't want to be late- I mean- like more late than we already are, because we already are late and it's not even like a fashionably late, it's like a late-late." Automne nervously rambled as he slipped his way past Petunia and Eve, avoiding eye contact all the while, made his way over to the door and quickly shuffled out of the room.

"Pfft," Petunia said with a wide smile. "Real smooth."

Eve didn't hear her though she was occupied in diligently looking over her dress. "Petunia," Eve started quietly, that is quieter than normal. "D-did I say something? Because Automne was acting… odd… it was like he didn't want to look at me... Did- did I do something to make him upset or-"

"Eve, Eve, Eve," Petunia said dismissively as she took Eve by the wrist and began to drag her along. "Don't worry about it; it's Automne. You probably just surprised him since you're not dressed like a prude."

Eve writhed uncomfortably as she tried to release her wrist from Petunia's grip. "I don't dress like a prude." She said with a hint of bitterness as she pulled her wrist away from her banana clad captor.

"Eve, if you dressed like a nun for a week none of us would notice." Ty added jollily as he closed the door to the room and matched their pace.

"Automne would probably notice." A sly smirk parted Petunia's lips as Ty gave a chuckle.

Eve looked between them in confusion. "What do you-"

"It's nothing Eve. I'm sure you'll catch on in a little while."

* * *

Pure unbridled excitement swept through Eve as she entered the festively decorated ballroom. A set of pulsating strobe lights sporadically painted the room vibrant shades of orange and purple. The ceiling and pillars were strewn with dark streamers and tattered, ghostly white clothes that swayed ominously when a draft flowed through the room. And most importantly of all the dance floor was absolutely abuzz with costumed students stepping and swaying to revamped Halloween classics.

Eve smiled jubilantly as she started to sway lightly to the music.

"I thought you were supposed to be a Goth?" Petunia said with a grin as she gave Eve a small nudge.

"Oh," Eve said in surprise as she quickly cleared her throat and folded her hands down in front of herself; a somber straight face replacing her joy. "Sadness, death, despair..." Eve murmured seriously, the façade only lasting a couple seconds before she burst into giggles.

"I'd give you a B for effort, but honestly I don't even think you earned that." She said with a patronizing pat on the shoulder "So, should we head over to the dance floor? 'Cause I can't wait to show off my banana power." Petunia said as she made her best attempt to look seductive while shaking around in a banana costume.

"Not yet," Ty said dismissively as he looked around the room. "Let's go find Automne. He sent me a text saying he's sitting over at the tables." He said giving a nod to some tightly packed round tables to the left of the dance floor.

"Ugh, what a killjoy. Alright let's go find the spaz." Petunia remarked bitterly as she made her way towards the tables.

Anxiety welled in Eve's appearance. "Ty, d-do you think Automne was acting strange earlier?"

"Eve, you're going to have to be a lot more specific than that." Ty said lightheartedly as they eased their way around small clusters of students.

"I mean back at the room, he didn't want to look at me and he kept avoiding talking about my costume. Do you think he hates it?" Worry dripping from her voice like wet paint as she looked down at her skirt and stockings.

Ty gave a sigh, "Eve, I'm sure he doesn't hate it. He's just... Bad at being a normal person. He's like a deer, kind of, you probably just spooked him. Give him a little while and he'll warm up to it... and then we'll kill him and mount his head on the wall."

Eve blinked a few times, unsure if this had actually set her at ease or not, but that really didn't matter considering the fact that Automne had just come into eyesight. He was sitting at a small round table holding his fake glasses in one hand and rubbing his face with the other.

Eve quickly made her way over to the table, making an effort to stand directly across from Automne. "Hi Automne," Eve said with a soft, warm smile and slightly uneasy eyes.

Automne spread his fingers and cast a small glance out at Eve for a moment before his eyes darted elsewhere. "Umm, hey, Eve..." A clearly nervous and seemingly pre-occupied Automne muttered as he took his hand off his face and put his glasses back on.

"Are you all right?" Eve asked as she walked over and pulled up a chair next to Automne's, causing him to noticeably tense up. "You ran off earlier and-"

"Is anyone thirsty? I'll go get us all some punch. I heard that it's good punch. Usually punch isn't great, but this stuff is supposed to be good." Automne rambled as he quickly rose out of his chair and swiftly backed away from Eve. "Hey, Ty, how about you help me get some punch. I only have two hands and Petunia will probably want punch and you know how it goes, bro." Automne finished with forced laughter and a look that said _'for the love of all that is holy, take the damn hint'_.

Ty gave a heavy sigh, shoving the chair he had just pulled out back under the table, "Fine,"

"Yo, what'd I miss?" Petunia said lackadaisically as she walked up eating a banana.

"Automne's an idiot."

"Yeah, what else's new?" Petunia said with a chuckle as Ty trudged off after Automne.

Eve gave a soft sigh as she watched the two walk away and disappear in the bustling crowd.

Petunia slowly came to a halt in the chewing of her banana and stared at Eve. "Hey, Eve, uuuuh, you alright?"

"Yes, I'm just thinking about something..." Eve said distantly as she stared at the table.

"Oh," Petunia continued to chew her banana with a blank look in her eyes; that is until a mischievous smirk crossed her lips, "Hey Eve, do you like sea-food?"

Eve blinked a couple times, "Well, I suppose it's alright. Why-"

"Blah." Petunia garbled as she opened her mouth wide and displayed the mushed mess that was her banana.

"Petunia!" Eve exclaimed in disgust as she held her hands up over her eyes.

_(Meanwhile)_

"So, why're you being a complete ass?" Ty asked nonchalantly as he ladled punch into a red plastic cup.

"I'm not being an ass, I'm just... keeping to myself." Automne said guiltily as he swirled the punch around in his cup.

"Yeah, well you're really upsetting Eve, you know that right? She thinks you hate her costume."

"I don't hate her costume." Automne stated matter-of-factly as he stared intently into his cup. "... Hey, uh, Ty... What uh, what do you think of Eve's costume?"

"I think she looks nice. It's nothing special." Ty said dryly as he filled up a third cup for himself. "Why, what do you think of it?"

"Oh," Automne muttered tensely. "Well- yeah, I guess it's not anything insane- yeah, but uhh," Automne cleared his throat. "Yeah, uh- yeah she looks- uh- very," Automne cleared his throat again, "Beautiful," He rapidly muttered before taking a swig of punch.

Ty stopped ladling and slowly turned to Automne a large smirk slowly spreading across his mouth. "What was that?"

"Bite me." Automne responded without hesitation as he stared at the bottom of his cup.  
"I'm telling." Ty said with an extreme amount of amusement as he began to walk away with cups of punch in hand.

"Nononono please please please please please don't!" Automne pleaded as he chased after Ty.

"Dude, I don't think she'll go crazy over a little compliment."

"No, it's not that- well, not just that- it's- uhhh, look just please don't tell her, okay?"

Ty paused for a second as if he was experiencing some kind of groundbreaking revelation. "What, is this like your fetish or-"

"Dude! Please!" Automne begged.

"Alright, fine, just don't come whining to me about any drama later." Ty said in slight annoyance as he took a sip from his cup. "Also you lied, this punch is crap."

"Yeah... It is pretty bad..." Automne conceded weakly. Automne fell silent for the rest of the walk back to the table quietly moping. When Eve came into sight between shifting members of the crowd he took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face."Heeey, we're back." Automne droned in an attempt to seem like he wasn't being awkward and unsociable as he walked up and set a cup of punch down in front of Eve.

"Where'd you two go?" Petunia inquired as she pulled another banana from the leg hole of her costume and began to peel it.

"Automne thought we should all have some punch." Ty said with a clearly forced, annoyed smile as he passed one of his cups of punch to Petunia.

"Well, why wouldn't we all want to have some punch, right? It's a dance and that's what people do at a dance right, drink punch... and dance." Automne finished nervously as he glanced over Eve from the corner of his eyes who was contently sipping punch, her black lips glistening lightly under the bright strobes. His cheeks swiftly caught fire and his face burned bright red as he silently watched a small smile cross her lips.

"Thank you for the punch, Automne." Eve chimed graciously as she beamed at Automne causing him to recoil and quickly avert his gaze.

"Umm- n-no problem, Eve." He weakly muttered as he stared down into his already emptied cup.  
Eve blinked a few times, distress in her gaze as she looked at the unreasonably asocial boy. "Automne did I-"

Petunia gave a loud gasp, cutting off Eve, as the DJ switched tracks.

"Holy crap, this is my jam!" Petunia shouted as she jumped out of her chair and ran out to the dance floor.

There was a momentary pause before Eve too gave a surprised gasp and rose out of her chair. "I love this song." She cheered jubilantly as she swayed back and forth to the beat, her skirt lightly swaying with her. "Automne, we should go dance." Eve suggested as she beamed down at him, her emotions once again clashing with her costume.

Automne glanced up at her nervously, his eyes swiveling around the room, only occasionally returning back to Eve. His mouth was almost as dry as paper as she looked down at him and softly batted her eyes. "I- I, uh," Her smile fading quickly as he tried to compose himself "Well-uh- here's the thing I, uh, actually just saw some friends and I should probably go say hi to them."

"Friends, but I thought we were your only friends?" Eve said innocently.

"... Okay first of all, that was rude." Automne stated, slightly offended by this harsh, but undeniably true statement "Second, you don't know them. I hang out with them when you guys aren't around."

"Aren't around?" Ty chuckled, "We live in the same room."

"Yeah, well... I'm just gonna go say hi." Automne said dismissively as he rose and began to walk backwards.

Eve shuffled slightly in place as she watched Automne back away. "Well, um, maybe I can come with you and-"

"No! I mean no, don't worry about it Eve. Go have fun and I'll- I'll just catch up in a bit." He said with a nervous smile before he speed walked off in a different direction.

Eve gave a soft sigh as she watched him walk away.

* * *

Automne tentatively glanced around a group of students to make sure that Eve wouldn't be able to see him, images of her lovely, but miserable face still running through his head.

Automne gave a heavy sigh and leaned back against a wall. "I'm an ass."

"I would say you are more of a coward, even in this regard, but I do not feel inclined to disagree with you on this." Sienaerde smugly replied as she walked up and stood next to him, sporting a foreign military uniform of some sort.

"Oh... great, like my evening wasn't bad enough." Automne said dryly as he glared at her.

"Well, if it helps to alleviate you, the vast majority of your problems stem from your own emotional instabilities rather than your social ineptitude, but I can assure you, your ineptitude is a prominent factor in the vast majority of all your strife." An arrogant smile twisting her lips as she held her hands behind her back like some sort of master villain lecturing a child.

"I swear to Dust you eat thesauruses with every meal." Automne grumbled under his breath. "What do you want?"

Sienaerde gave a small chuckle, "I just wanted to tell you that your skills as a huntsmen are pathetic, but they're nowhere near as dreadful as your miserable, and frankly embarrassing, display of failing to court a woman. So rest assured you are reaching new lows in every walk of life with each passing day."

"Do I even want to know how you know about-"

"I was following you, but even if I weren't your less than subtle body language and lack of tact could be spotted from across the ballroom."

"Well, this talk has completely justified why I hate you. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go be miserable somewhere else." Automne said with a grimace as he began to walk away.

"That's unfortunate, I haven't even insulted your low-budget costume yet."

"You are just Dust awful... Speaking of which what is your costume anyways?" Automne asked out of curiosity as he glanced her up and down from her black leather boots to hat.

"I'm an SS Officer." She said with a disgusting amount of pride as she clicked her heels together and gave a salute with an out stretched arm.

Automne stopped and stared at her, his mouth hanging open a bit as he registered what she had just said. " D-did we just broke the fourth wall so you could be a Nazi?"

"Ja," She remarked shamelessly as she stared at him with an unnerving amount of glee.

Automne blinked a couple times. "You are just a Dust awful person... I'm going to walk away now and pretend that I've never met you."

"One day we shall eradicate all of the Faunus schwein and unite the great Kingdoms under a true and pure flag!" Sienaerde shouted before bursting into maniacal laughter.

"Goodbye, crazy person." Automne muttered before quickly shuffling away while covering his face from on looking passers-by.

_(Shortly after the craziness)_

"Where've you been?" Ty called out from the table as a clearly unnerved Automne pulled out his seat.

"Hell... I've been in hell." Automne removed his glasses and did a tired face-palm. "Where's Eve at?" He groaned as he rubbed his eyes to the point that he could only see glowing dots.

"I convinced her to go dancing." Ty said from behind the rim of his cup. "You know she's-"

"Not having a good time and it's all my fault and I should feel bad. Save it," Automne gave a heavy sigh. "I already do." Automne pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. "Auuuuugh why do emotions suck so much?!" Automne groaned as he stomped his feet against the ground.

"Because you're immature and don't know how to act like a man." Ty said curtly as he rocked back and forth in his chair.

Automne slid his face down his hands and rested his chin on the table. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." Ty said flatly as he took another sip of his punch, grimacing at the red plastic receptacle in disdain.

"Ey, we're back." Petunia said, beaming like an idiot as she walked up and collapsed into her chair.

Automne tensed up and tried to avert his gaze as Eve followed shortly after breathing heavily with a few beads of sweat running down her face.

"That was fun." Eve said cheerfully, picking up her cup and casting a glance over to Automne. "Maybe we can all go back out there in a little." she suggested with a warm smile aimed directly at Automne.

"Umm," Automne started, nervously watching Eve from the corner of his eyes. "Well, I-I don't know. Maybe in a little whi-whi-whi-whiiiii-" Automne stammered in shock as Eve removed her jacket. His mouth fell open and his face began to turn crimson as he admired a full view of Eve's pale white shoulders and her long, velvety black gloves that stretched the length of her forearms and crawled half-way up her supple, lean biceps. "Eve, you should put your jacket back on!" Automne shouted as he quickly turned away to prevent himself from dropping his gaze to the horribly low bust line of her dress.

Eve looked down at her dress in concern while Ty and Petunia just glared at Automne.

"I'm sorry." Eve said weakly, forcing Automne to guiltily turn back to her. "I am dressed rather...indecently. I should probably go-"

"Wait!" Automne shouted as he jumped up and held his palm out at Eve, who had started to rise from her chair. "Umm... I didn't mean 'put your jacket on' in a bad way, I meant- umm, I was trying to..."

Automne was drawing a blank as his eyes darted around from Eve, to the dance floor, to a cameraman standing near the door to- Automne gave a small gasp. "Iiii was going to say we should go take some pictures together!" Automne shouted triumphantly as if he didn't just stumble through his excuse like a drunkard in a field of land mines.

Eve gave a large gasp, a large smile quickly washing away her fears. "We completely forgot to take pictures together." She steadily rose out of her chair, slipped her jacket back over her arms, tossed her hair over the back and eagerly bounced in place. "Come on, let's go get a few pictures." Eve cheered happily as she made her way over towards the cameraman.

"Smooth save," Petunia said sarcastically as she rolled off the side of her chair and stumbled to her feet. "What's next, are you going to get her to jog around the campus?"

"Hey, I had to improvise."

"Don't be so hard on him, Petunia." Ty said calmly as they all began to walk across the room. "Some people prefer a physical image when we're getting off." Ty said with a suggestive grin and a painful nudge into Automne's ribs.

"It's not like that!" Automne growled through his teeth as they pushed past a small group of huntsmen.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself in public man. Just try not to glaze those khakis." Petunia egged on with a toothy smirk.

"I think he already did. Did you see the look on his face when she took off her jacket?"

Automne gave an exhausted groan as they rejoined Eve, who was still bouncing enthusiastically. "I really hope you two catch fire in a training room accident."

"Automne, that's not very nice." Eve said softly as a couple in front of them walked away contently with arms wrapped around each other.

Automne flinched as Eve watched him intently, her soft eyes glowing at him amongst her eye shadow like shiny gemstones. "Erm, yeah, I was just... I was joking. I mean, I never really-"

"Next," The portly cameraman called out to the team.

"Oh, thank Dust." Automne blurted out, making Eve turn back to him in confusion. "I mean... Thank Dust that we're finally up! I mean was that line long or what? Ahehehehe… anybody?"

Everyone, including the cameraman, blankly stared at Automne.

"Alright, let's move it along folks." The cameraman said suddenly after shaking off Automne's awkwardness. "Now, let's get the ladies together for the first one.

"I hope you enjoy leftovers." Petunia said with a smirk as she smacked Automne's chest with the back of her hand.

Automne gave a groan as Eve and Petunia stepped in front of a festive backdrop. "Gah, why do you two have to be dicks and make this weird?"

"Because you're such a bitch; you make it too much fun." Ty responded indifferently as Petunia and Eve struck a couple of quirky poses. "Also you're the one makin' it weird, dude. The rest of us are trying to have a good time."

Automne gave a heavy sigh. "Dust, I hate you."

"Love you too, but how about channeling all those pent-up emotions at your girlfriend?"

"Alright and now the gents." The cameraman called out prompting both Ty and Automne to step forward in front of the backdrop.

"She's not my girlfriend." Automne hissed under his breath as he spun around and pointed a finger gun at Ty's head with a smirk for the camera. Ty simply responded with a bright smile and returned the gesture.

"Aww, you two look cute together!" Petunia shouted from the side as the cameraman snapped the picture.

"Alright, now how about a couple of you all together."

"Oh, what kind of pose should we do?" Eve loudly whispered as she happily jogged back in front of the camera. "Should we go for a group pose where we all do the same thing or maybe a silly one where we all do goofy faces or-"

"How about we pose like our costumes?" Ty suggested cheerfully as Automne still struggled to maintain eye contact with Eve while Petunia took a bite out of yet another banana.

"That sounds perfect!" Eve called back cheerfully before taking a deep breath and pouting at the camera.

Automne gave a small chuckle and pretended to adjust his tie for the camera as he watched Eve pretend to be a moody, self-centered Goth girl from the corner of his eye. It was actually a rather gentle moment as the camera flashed and captured what seemed like the most harmonious point of the evening.  
Automne gave a content sigh as he stared at the back of Eve's head as she broke character and returned to swaying lightly with a large smile.

"Now, how about a couple of you two together?" The cameraman suggested cheerfully as he pointed to Automne and Eve.

"Wait, what?" Automne sputtered completely dumbstruck by the sudden shift from a nice peaceful little photoshoot to an unholy nightmarish photoshoot from the most awkward pits of hell.

"Sure," Eve said happily as Petunia and Ty stepped out of the frame, but not before Ty intentionally shoved Automne closer to Eve.

"Wait, I'm not-"

"Automne," Eve's sweet voice chimed as she turned to him, her hands clasped together as she looked up at him with big eyes. "Please."

Automne could slowly feel his soul being sapped out by Eve's gaze. Her moon white eyes staring out at him from behind her periwinkle contacts. "Al-alright." Automne surrendered as he looked down at her with bright red cheeks.

Eve gave him a warm smile.

"Alright, so Miss, you turn around and you, young man place your hands on the lady's waist."

Automne's heart skipped a beat as Eve turned around and backed up against him, a slightly uncomfortable smile stretched across her lips.

His heart began to pound and beat against him like a mad drummer. His arms felt like lead as he slowly raised them and tentatively placed his hands on Eve's hips. The fabric of her clothes brushed against his softly as the camera flashed, capturing a snap shot of Automne holding Eve from the side. He began to breathe heavily as he turned his face into Eve's dark silky hair; her sweet fragrance wafting over him like warm water.

His eyelids began to grow heavy as a warm smile crossed his face. It was only a matter of seconds before he gave into his senses and gently wrapped his arms around Eve's waist. He pulled her closer and let his breath slowly flow past his lips. Silence fell upon him for a few brief moments until Eve responded.

"Automne," Eve's voice said softly. He opened his eyes and realized his face was resting against the back of her head, her dark hair shrouding him from the rest of the world. "A-a-are you-"

Automne quickly released his arms from around Eve's waist and stepped backwards; channeling his semblance he faded out of visibility.

Eve turned around and swept the room quickly to see that Automne was nowhere in sight. "Au-Automne?"

* * *

Automne tossed and turned in his bed restlessly as images of Eve clad in gothic clothing strutted through his mind. Chills ran up and down his body, his eyes transfixed on her smooth pale skin and her luscious black lips. Automne let out a whimper as she cast him a look of disdain and began to slowly walk away. His lips quivered and his eyes flooded with tears as his body began to crumble away into orange and brown leaves.

"Rise and shine, dude." Ty's voice rang out through his crumbling dystopia as cold water splashed against his face.

Automne jumped up in bed sputtering, his face and sheets sopping wet as Ty lifted a bottle of water to his lips and took a sip. Automne gave Ty a spiteful glare as his leader swished the water around in his mouth and swallowed.

"I didn't expect you to sleep in for so long. You know, since you were already asleep by the time we got back." Ty said with furrowed eyebrows as he began to cross the room towards one of their desks.  
Automne gave a heavy sigh and ran his hands over his face a few times to wipe away some of the water.

"Was Eve-"

"Confused? Upset? Able to enjoy the rest of the evening? Yes, yes and hell no."

Automne gave a heavy sigh and hugged his knees. "I'm an ass." He muttered to himself.

"Yes, you are, also it looks like you're a pizza face today." Ty said curtly as he walked over and held a small mirror to Automne's face.

Automne stared into the mirror his miserable, acne riddled face looking back at him. He gave a heavy groan and fell back into his soaked pillow. "I break out when I'm stressed."

"Well, I guess you deserve it then." Ty responded dryly as he glared down at Automne.

"Piss off man, I'm having a hard time already."

"Eve didn't look like she was little miss sunshine when she woke up this morning either, man"

Automne's eyes shot open and his head popped back off the bed. "Where's Eve at? I need to go apologize, like right now."

Ty stopped for a moment pulled his sleeve back and looked at a wristwatch. "She went down to breakfast with Petunia over a half-hour ago. She'll probably be coming back up here in a few."

Automne gave a sigh and rolled off his bed. "Well then, I guess I better make myself presentable." Automne slurred miserably as he shuffled over to the end of his bed and pulled his sweater out from under it. "Can I borrow some cover-up man?"

"Maybe after you apologize." Ty shot back sternly as he sat down on his bed.

"That's mature." Automne grumbled to himself as he pulled his sweater down over his wet t-shirt. "Pants." Automne stated like a spoiled brat as he waited for Ty to toss him his pair of cargo pants from the floor.

Ty took a second before giving the appropriate response and chucking the pants directly at his head, the buckle from his belt smacking directly into his face.

Automne stumbled back before gaining his footing and turning to Ty with a serious look in his eye. "Rude,"

"We're back!" Petunia shouted half-heartedly as she threw the door open.

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he quickly tried to put on his pants. "Good morning, Petunia. Good morn-" Automne froze up as he turned his attention to Eve who was standing in the doorway still dressed as a Goth. "Umm, g-good morning, Eve." Automne stuttered in shock as he looked Eve up from her Gothic boots and jet black thigh high socks to her emblem emblazoned black tank-top mostly covered by the same dark jacket from last night.

Eve gave Automne a warm smile. "Good morning, Automne."

"Yeah, umm, morning- Eve, you're uh, still wearing... Goth." Automne mustered as he weakly pointed at Eve's clothes, her eyes shining brightly at him from behind her glasses.

"Oh, yeah, my jacket and pants got stained earlier, so I changed into this." Eve said with a small smile as she lightly tugged on the sides of her skirt.

"Oh, w-well, it certainly..." Automne's cheeks began to turn a dark shade of red as he quickly averted his gaze. "SO, uh-hey I-uh I think I should go down and maybe get some breakfast."

"Okay, are we still going to go to the library in a little while?" Eve said with a large sweet smile, prompting Automne to cringe.

"Umm, I- uh I don't know."

In an instant Eve's smile was swept away. Her eyes quivered a bit as she tried to force a smile back onto her lips. "B-but you said you were going to help me study today." Eve stopped and looked down at her clothes. "Automne, if this is about the way I'm dressed-"

"Hey, look at the time they're totally going to stop serving breakfast soon. I should get down there." Automne said in a rush as he quickly made for the door, gently stepping around Eve before he bailed into the hall.

"Wait, Automne!" Eve softly called out as Automne quickly walked down the hall.  
Eve paused for a few moments as she stared down at her boots.

Petunia looked back over to Ty and shook her head. "Hey, Eve, I'll go study with you. Forget Automne, he's being-"

"A liar." Eve's sweet voice chimed with an uncharacteristically deep intensity. She quickly spun around and raised her fiery gaze to Petunia. "Automne has been lying and running away and it's all because of these clothes! I'm going to get him to tell me the truth and I'm going to use these clothes to do it!" Eve shouted as she balled her hands into fists. "Petunia grab my purse, please! We need to go to the mall!"

Petunia shuddered a bit and held her hands up defensively. "A-alright Eve, let's just keep our cool, 'kay."

"Hmm," Ty hummed nonchalantly, "As leader I should probably say something." Ty briskly walked over to his bed and pulled out a manga from under it. He threw himself onto his bed and flipped open the book. "Eh, I'll let them sort this out."

* * *

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he rubbed his forehead across his open textbook. He had the dorm all to himself and he was making the most of it by sighing and wallowing in his own pity. He rolled his head across the paper and turned over onto his cheek to see his half complete assignment lying next to his textbook.

"Probably would have finished by now if I decided to go with Eve." He muttered to himself as he tried to imagine a scenario of them sitting together in the library where he didn't embarrass himself and look like a complete jackass. Automne let out a heavy groan and threw his head back. "Ugggh, stupid socially awkward idiot."

Automne stopped berating himself as a chill flowed through his body. A second later the tumblers to the door clicked loudly as someone began to push it open. Automne quickly scooted forward in his seat, grabbed his pencil and pretended to look like he was working diligently.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as a long haired, dark figure slowly stepped into the room.

"Hello Automne." Eve's soft, captivating voice rang in his ears as he continued to stare down at his paper. Eve stared down at him as she confidently strutted over and stood behind him. "I missed you at the library." Her delicate voice cutting into him like a razor as she bent down and whispered into his ear.

"I-uh- I actually missed the – breakfast, so I had to wait for lunch." Automne lied as the feeling of Eve's soft breathing on the back of his neck threatened to drive him wild.

"That sounds awful." An irregular, and almost insulting, amount of insincerity heavy in her tone as she stepped forward into the corner of Automne's eye, spun around gracefully, and sat herself on the corner of the desk.

Automne's heart began to pound in his ears thunderously as he ever so slightly turned to stare at her black knee socks which clung tightly to her long smooth legs. Automne bit into his tongue as he began to trail his eyes up her creamy thighs which all too suddenly disappeared under the ruffles of her skirt.

"Automne," Eve seductively whispered as she pushed aside Automne's textbook. "Last night, you never told me how I looked."

Automne's face burned like lava as his gaze slowly rose up across a bold silver and black corset which hugged Eve's slender figure tightly.

"Automne,"

His heart came to a stop as he met her gaze. Her soft periwinkle eyes looking down into his from amidst a flourish of dark eye shadow, her lipstick his vibrant shade of yellow. "How do I look?"

Automne quickly bolted up from his seat causing Eve to jump off the table.

"No, we are going to-" Eve started before Automne quickly swept her off her feet and into his arms resulting in Eve quickly turning a bright pink. "No, no, no, no, no, put me down!" Eve protested as he turned around and began to carry her towards his bed. "No! Automne, stop! I- I was just-"

"Trying to get me to tell you why I've been avoiding you?" Guilt heavy in his voice as he set her down on the edge of the bed.

Eve immediately attempted to scurry across the bed away from him, but Automne quickly grabbed her by the wrist and sat down next to her. Eve tugged against his grip as her eyes darted across the room in panic. "H-how-"

"Eve, you are a terrible bluffer." Automne said with a grin, still hesitating to look directly at her.  
Automne gave a few chuckles and released Eve's wrist; which she ripped away and hugged tightly.

Eve tried to do her best attempt at giving Automne an infuriated glare as she tried to compose herself. "W-well?"

Automne gave a heavy sigh, "Do I really have to tell you?" He said nervously; still averting his eyes.

"Mhmm," Eve confirmed with an aggressive nod.

Automne gave another sigh. "Well, it's... I don't know how to... "Automne gave another heavy sigh and looked directly into Eve's soft eyes; occasionally glancing away in fright.

"Eve... You're... very pretty, and that's- that's kind of awkward, because you're my best friend and that just… it feels wrong to say that to you because... well, it's you and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable around me like I'm just being a creep."

"... Oh," Surprise evident in Eve's voice as her cheeks glowed a warm pink. She swiftly looked away from Automne and down at her knees, her hands pressed tightly against her chest. "So..." Eve started cautiously as her eyes glanced between her knees and Automne's. "I-is that why you don't like it when I dress this way?"

"What? No, Eve I-" Automne gave a heavy sigh and rubbed at his neck as he turned away. "I think you look kind of... very… beautiful when you dress this way. I just- it- it just doesn't feel like you though. You feel like a completely different girl, like... the kind who-" Automne glanced around, gave a heavy sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "Make me nervous..."

Eve blinked a few times before turning to Automne, concern deep in her eyes. "Why do I make you nervous?"

"I don't know... M-maybe because you're not dressed like a prude."

"I don't dress like a prude." Eve huffed as she puffed her chest out.

"Eve, you regularly wear a button-up shirt and slacks. You wear sleeping gloves, Eve. _**Sleeping gloves**_," Automne stressed as he gestured back towards her side of the room. "And I'm not even going to start about how you freak out if anyone touches you for more than three seconds."

Eve blushed brightly and attempted to curl up into a ball. "W-well people should respect my body." Eve whined as tears began to bud in the corners of her eyes.

A smirk crossed Automne's lips, "Alright then, I'll just have to make sure to attract twice as much attention as you, so no one will violate you with their eyes." Eve gave Automne a warm, but stressed, smile, "So, uh Eve are- are you going to be... dressing this way more often?"

Eve gave a small sigh. "I don't think so. Boys have been trying to flirt with me all day." Eve perked up slightly as an idea smacked into her. "Do you think they would bother me if we dyed all the silver on my clothes yellow like your clothes? I've seen a few girls wearing their teammate's colors before and they never seem to have that problem."

Automne turned to Eve in shock. "Uh, Eve, um- t-that's an old huntsmen tradition where-uh... Huntsmen will do that to show that they're engaged."

Eve froze up at this previously unknown information and hastily scooted away from Automne, her cheeks burning an almost neon pink.

A smirk began to sprout on Automne's face. "You know, if you want to propose you can just say it. Who knows, maybe I'll say yes."

Eve gave a loud moan and scooted further up the bed.

"Alright, no need to get flustered." Automne mocked with a chuckle. "Now," Automne raised his fist out to the girl. "Are we good?"

Eve glanced over at his hand and without a second thought extended her own fist and gave him a small bump. Eve gave a small giggle, "We're good." Automne and Eve jubilantly smiled at each other for a short time before Eve breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that that's settled I'm going to go change into something less... promiscuous."

Eve made to get up, but was immediately pulled back down onto the bed by her wrist.

"Hold on!" Automne shouted nervously as he once again struggled to maintain eye contact. "Umm... do you think you could wear it for just a little while longer?"

Eve blinked in astonishment as Automne eased her back onto the bed. "Umm, well... I suppose I could"

"Great," Automne cheered as he bent down and began to remove Eve's boots.

"What're you-"

"You should get comfortable. Lay down for a while, let me do your homework or something. It's my way of saying sorry." Automne said with a large smile as he pulled her boots off and lifted her feet up onto the bed; all to the chorus of Eve moaning in distress. "Oh, calm down. Now, do you need anything; snacks, water, massage~"

Eve's eye's widened as the last word left Automne's mouth. "M-ma-massage?"

"Yeah, a massage," Automne placed a hand on Eve's knee. "And afterwards you can strip down for me so I can," Automne moved in close, his hand gently running up her thigh as he pulled aside her curtain of hair to expose her ear. "Dye your clothes."

Eve let out a loud shriek and rolled off Automne's bed as he broke out laughing.

"You're awful!" Eve whined as she curled up on the floor.

Automne gave a sigh and sat on the bed with a large smile, "Yeah, I know"

* * *

**Why can't every day be Halloween?**

**-CS**


	17. D'you have a rough day?

A bored sigh quietly breezed past Automne's lips as he stared at his Professor with disinterest from the back of the room. On any other day- well not any other day, but today just happened to be particularly dreadful- Automne would've attentively sat through his Field Biology class like a good student or a literate sheep. He would jot down notes and pretend to not hate Petunia for constantly jabbing her elbow into his ribs; asking what Professor Lazuli had just said for the third time in ten minutes.

This was not a good day though so he made no effort to hold back an ounce of his disdain. He even let his eyes aimlessly wander away from his tall, bosomy, blue haired Professor. His eyes carelessly passed over the heads of his fellow students until they habitually jolted to a stop in their sockets.

Automne took a heavy breath, taking in the dry, sweat scented classroom air so he could muster a pitiful sigh. His eyes lingered on the head of some random student for a moment before he allowed his gaze to shift to the green haired Chartreuse.

Woe overcame him as he creepily absorbed her enticing essence from afar. Her smooth, flawless skin and her sweet pink lips made his heart sink like lead, or concrete, or perhaps something else that sinks quickly into the ocean of self-absorbed misery. He rested his face in his hand as he stared at her from afar, unaware that Petunia was in turn staring at him, amusement spread across her face like Nut-holla.

"Dude," She whispered, breaking Automne's mopey, fantasizing. "Are you gonna shoot up the school because of her?"

Automne turned to her in surprise. "What?"

"I'm just sayin', you look like the kind of guy who shoots up the school just 'cause he can't get laid."

The offense sank into Automne like water into asphalt. "No… I'm not going to shoot up the school."

"Are you sure? 'Cause you really have that angsty, mopieness look that all school shooters have." Petunia added observantly as she gestured to Automne's face. "And y'know since Ty's banging Chartreuse you really have all the triggers. The only thing that'd make you a shoe in is if Eve stopped talking to you."

Automne glared at her for a moment. "You're a bitch, you know that?"

"How could I not?"

Automne opened his mouth to retort, but a sudden chill running up his back made him stop and slam his face down against his desk. Moments later a loud crash roared through the class as a piece of stone smashed into the wall behind Automne.

"Mr. Noire," The stern and more than slightly annoyed voice of Professor Lazuli rang out as she folded her arms and sat on the corner of her desk. "Would you care to share your conversation with the rest of the class?"

Automne gave a nervous shiver as he lifted his head off his desk. He glanced around, all eyes were boring into him, draining him of his confidence and saliva. "Um-uh N-n-n-no, P-Professor." Automne stammered, his mouth dry and his voice small.

The Professor watched him emotionlessly for a few moments before shifting her attention to Petunia. "How about you, Ms. Kapelle?"

"No, Professor." Petunia said quickly while trying to avoid direct eye-contact.

The Professor glanced between the two of them for a tad longer, letting the public embarrassment really sink in before she popped off her desk and turned back to the board, her braided hair whipping through the air as she spun around.

Automne's cheeks burned as frustration simmered inside him. "I wasn't even the one who started it… stupid Professor" He muttered under his breath as his confidence began to come back to him. Unfortunately for Automne the Professor must have had the hearing of a hound because she swiftly pivoted back around the very second the words left his lips.

She held out her arm and sent a small stone soaring out of her baggy sleeve towards him. Automne gave a choking gasp as the stone smacked straight into his throat, sending him to the floor reeling and sputtering.

"Mr. Noire, see me after class." The Professor said impatiently before turning back to the board.

Automne gave loud pained coughs as he tried to pull himself back into his seat, tears rolling from his eyes.

"Dude," Petunia whispered as Automne tried to ignore the dozens of eyes watching him as he coughed violently. "I think she heard you."

* * *

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he trudged out of Professor Lazuli's classroom; his throat bruised and his feelings bashed. He wasn't walking out alone though, he was accompanied by a hefty assignment to read a whole one-hundred and fifty pages from the textbook and accompany it with a ten page essay about the uses of roots and herbs in the field while detailing their natural geographic locations.

"So," Petunia said lackadaisically leaning against a nearby wall. "How'd it go?"

"Oh, it didn't go too badly," Automne started off calmly. "It's not like I was assigned some insanely long, tedious, Dust forsaken assignment which doesn't even go towards my final grade in the class." Fury bubbling in his voice as sarcasm flowed from him like toxic sludge.

"Sweet, let's get outta here." Petunia said with all the sympathy of a rock.

Automne glared at Petunia for a moment before turning and walking down the hallway. "You suck."

"No, dude, you suck, I lick." Petunia replied cheekily as she joined Automne.

"Why do you have to make life hard for me? I'm just trying to be a good student and you make it hard for me."

"Why do you whine so much? Hey, maybe that's why you're a virgin." Petunia shot with a large grin.

"At least I'm not a bitch."

"I wouldn't go that far." Petunia shrugged.

"I swear, the only reason I talk to you is because you have the Webshowz password and you know all the good porn vids."

"It's not my fault you always lose the password."

"That's because you write it on napkins."

"That's gross, dude." Petunia stated as if she had never dared to indulge in the pass-time of touching herself.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Automne said with a light blush, while the gears in his head urged him to keep the conversation rolling. "So, uhhhh, hey, how's the uh…" Automne stopped for a moment to glance around like a paranoid meerkat. "Hacking-thing going?"

"Eh," Petunia said with a shrug, a sour look on her face.

Automne raised an eyebrow. "What's 'eh' mean?"

"It means it's super boring. I've been trying to work my way into some of the files every now and then, but they're all encrypted and the passwords change every six hours. I don't wanna force my way in cause I'm pretty sure I'll end up setting off some security measures which will destr-"

"So, basically you can't hack it." Automne said quickly with a large grin.

Petunia let out a low growl and gave him a shove. "_Basically_, if we want to get in I'm gonna have to sit down, grab a can of Power Beast, and go at the thing with everything I got." She tried to stuff her hands into her pockets dramatically, but only ended up forcefully brushing them against the sides of her skirt.

"Oh," Automne said unsurely. "Well, if it's that easy why haven'-"

"One word, dude: midterms." Spite dripping from her mouth as the dreaded topic of academics forced its way into their conversation.

"Ugh," Automne moaned as he fastened his arms around his stomach in fear that the embodiment of the word would jump out from around a corner and punch him in the gut. The very thought of the rigorous tests, essays, and beatings looming in his future made his bladder quiver uneasily.

"Yeah, and if that's not bad enough Ty's been riding my ass all week about formations, and the hacking, and not leaving food under my bed; stupid crap."

"So that's what that smell was. Eve's been complaining about that all we- Holy crap!" Automne shouted.

"Dude, what?"

"I forgot I was supposed to meet Eve in the library for a study session." Automne quickly shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his Scroll. "Aww, crap," Automne whimpered as the time 3:14 popped to the screen. "I'm late." Automne swiftly looked around, fear pumping into him as he looked up and down the unfamiliar gray corridors. "Where the hell are we?"

"I don't know? I was following you." Petunia answered calmly, a sly smile working its way across her face as she reveled in Automne's confusion. "Dude, you need to chill out. Here, I know a guy in town who sells pot, lemme give you his number."

"No time for that." Automne blurted as he began to speed walk down the most promising hallway.

* * *

Automne's heavy, cereal scented pants filled the air as he tried to quietly shuffle into the library. His eyes skittered around the room in search of Eve as he held his stomach, which was still trying to recover from his impromptu speed-tour of the school. "I need- to work on- my cardio." Automne panted as quietly as he could manage as he shuffled into the center of the library and threw his eyes around the room again.

"Eve!" He whispered loudly, earning him a few glares from some nearby bookworms. "Eeeeve!"

"Hmpff,"

"Eve?" Automne repeated with a question mark this time as the uncanny feeling of angry eyes dug into him. "Where are you?"

'_Gee, maybe that girl reading the anatomy textbook at that table over there would know.'_ Automne's brain hinted.

Automne stopped looking around and turned calmly to examine the girl. "… Oh," Automne said blankly, staring at the anatomy girl he had looked over at least three times. "Not sure how I missed her."

'_Because you're an idiot.'_

"Shut up brain, I'll kill you." Automne mumbled to himself as he shuffled over to Eve's table and pulled out a chair.

'_No, you need me to help get you through this conversation. Now, say hi to Eve.'_

Automne's mouth stalled for a moment as he switched from internal rambling to normal conversing. "Oh, uh… Hey, Eve." Automne stammered, snapping back to the real world.

Eve didn't respond, she didn't even lower her textbook.

"Um," Automne hummed nervously. He glanced down towards the floor and found a small tower of medical textbooks standing near the base of Eve's chair. "So, umm, what did you need help with? Did you, uh, want to make flash cards or study up on the… body, or… something?" Automne rambled as the room's temperature mysteriously climbed a few degrees.

Automne gave a heavy sigh when he finally realized she was ignoring him. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

Eve lowered her textbook a few centimeters to glare at him from over the top. "You're late."

"I know," Automne replied glumly. "I got in trouble with my Professor."

Eve raised her textbook again, concealing her spectacled eyes. "You always get in trouble."

"No, I don't."

"Professor Baula had you in detention all last week for fighting in the halls."

"I wasn't fighting in the halls. Someone shoved me so I shoved them back and-" Automne stopped and gave a groan. "Look, I'm here now, so let's just study."

"You are twenty- seven minutes late." Eve chided, lowering her book to give Automne a stern pout. "I don't want to study with you anymore."

Automne's heart sank as silence fell between them. Automne slumped back in his chair as Eve lifted her book and went back to studying on her own.

Automne gave a sniffle as he tiredly yanked his goggles from his forehead. Letting his arm drop down to his side lifelessly, he stared blankly at the scuffed table. His thoughts slithered around in his head like fish trying to make their way through the thick, creamy broth that was his brain. Slowly, he fell forward against the table where he rested his head on its grimy, wooden surface.

Automne gave a heavy sigh, his eyes plastered on the spine of Eve's book. "I'm sorry."

A quiet, somewhat sad sigh could be heard from behind Eve's book.

"I should've been on time." Automne submitted guiltily, the wood of the table scraping against his cheek as he tried to turn away from Eve. "It's my fault that I got in trouble… I've just been… just been having a crappy time ever since Ty started going out with Chartreuse. I've just felt like really, kind of, gross, kind of. Like, right in my stomach area, it's just felt really… bad."

"Why don't you talk to him about it?" Eve's quiet voice chimed curiously from behind her book as Automne wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket.

"You remember how our _'talk'_ went last time. We don't get anywhere." Automne grumbled pessimistically.

"It wouldn't hurt to try again."

Eve's words swished around in his mind for a few seconds before he spat it back out like mouth wash. "It wouldn't make a difference anyways… He's with her now."

"You mean Chartreuse?"

"Yeah," He replied solemnly as his innards rolled around at the mention of her name.

"Automne, I'm sure you'll find someone else, you're a nice guy."

"You don't believe that, you called me a jerk just the other day."

There was a slight pause. "You're a nice guy most of the time."

Automne rolled his eyes before burying his face in his arms. "Exactly," Automne gave one more pitiful sigh before raising his head off the table with a miserable frown. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better. I'm sorry about being late… I think I'm going to go for a walk."

Automne quietly stumbled out of his seat, his back to Eve as he started to shuffle off. "I should be back to the room by eight." He grumbled loud enough for Eve to hear as he walked away with his head hung over in shame.

Eve gave a small sigh.

* * *

Automne gave a loud, heavy sigh. He was sprawled out on his back, acquiring grass stains under a large, secluded oak tree.

"Why does life suck?" Automne asked the branches above him, bits of clouds visible between the bright orange and yellow leaves. He waited for a few minutes and when no response came he answered for himself. "Because people suck, everyone sucks… well, not Eve, but everyo- okay, and there is dad… and I have met some pretty nice people… but that doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't suck." Automne complained, his thoughts sloshing about in his head like buoys caught in a rogue wave of emotions and angst.

Unpleasant chills of self-doubt flowed through him spurring him into giving another heavy sigh. A poorly timed sigh at that because right then a dead leaf, drifting down from the tree above, landed in his mouth.

"Ahck-why tree?!" Automne shouted, rolling onto his side to try and spit out the taste of dirty leaf. "I trusted you!"

"Unfortunately, that is what happens when you place your trust with a plant. You will inevitably end up looking like a fool."

Automne stopped spitting for a moment so he could grimace in disgust. He rolled into a seated position and stared up at the sharp eyed Sienaerde who stood over him like she were some sort of monument. The strangest part, at least to Automne, was that she was dressed in one of the male uniforms; slacks, jacket, and all. "Sienaerde," He remarked, hints of paranoia evident in his voice.

"Noire," She replied austerely, her hands held behind her back like she was lecturing him.

Automne looked her up and down fearfully, his eyes trying to capture every detail of her figure. "What do you want?"

"I will tell you, but first make yourself decent and get off the ground." She ordered as if she were some kind of dictator.

"I'd prefer to stay on the ground." Automne said defiantly, subtly scooting away from the girl.

"Of course you'd prefer to sit in the dirt." She replied, rolling her eyes off of him and onto the large oak standing behind him.

"Alright, wha'd'you want?" Automne said impatiently.

"Ask me out."

Automne paused to blink in confusion a good half-dozen times. "Run that by me again."

Sienaerde gave a frustrated sigh and glared down at him. "I want you to ask me out. Now stand up, make yourself presentable, and properly ask me if I'd accompany you on a date."

"Alright, umm, how about no, no and what the hell?" Automne responded as he started to wonder if he'd fallen into some kind of vivid, unpleasant dream. The kind where everything starts reasonably before it devolves into utter insanity.

"You have absolutely nothing to do apart from languish at the thought of your team leader bedding your _crush_." The last word leaving her mouth with a condescending hiss.

"Okay," Automne started, "First of all, how did… Wait a minute, have you been following me?"

Sienaerde fell silent for a few moments, her eyes shifting around as if she didn't know the correct answer.

"Are you serious?!"

"Oh don't flatter yourself. I have far more important things to attend to on a daily basis rather than stalk a weak, embarrassing, coward like you around the campus." Sienaerde replied as she looked off into the distance. "On a separate note, you improperly tied your left shoelace at breakfast this morning and it has been quite irksome."

Automne's gaze darted to his left shoe, which did happen to be poorly tied, and then back to Sienaerde. "You're insane."

"No, I'm not, now please stand up and ask me if I'd be willing to accompany you out on a date tonight." Sienaerde replied calmly returning her piercing brown eyes to Automne.

Automne took a couple seconds to consider what Sienaerde had just said. Slowly; he got to his feet, dusted himself off, straightened out his jacket and cleared his throat. With shaky hands he adjusted his tie as he took in a deep breath. "Alright," Automne said nervously. "Sienaerde, will you- Oh… umm, you have a leaf on your shoulder."

Sienaerde glared at him intensely. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"No, but it was worth a try." Automne replied with a guilty smile, instantly fading from visibility.

Sienaerde gave a low growl and hung her head. "Ignoramus," she grumbled, thrusting her arm out to the side and clenching onto something invisible.

"Ack," Automne squealed, popping back into visibility with Sienaerde's hand around his neck.

"Uggggggh," Automne sighed as he sluggishly sulked into the student dorms, a slightly purple bruise sitting under his eye.

'_Screw today,'_ Automne said internally as he shuffled down the hall. _'I've had enough stupid stuff for today. I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of my life. Seriously, screw everything else, I'm going to drop out of Beacon, marry my pillow, and fall into a coma so I can sleep for the rest of my life._

'_We'll even have a couple of throw pillow children if my pillow can bear children… Come to think of it would a pillow give live birth or would it lay eggs… pillow eggs… Why am I even thinking about this?'_ Automne pondered as he pulled his Scroll from his pocket and raised it up as his dorm room came into sight.

As Automne's mind began to wash itself clean of the day's events something caught his eye. At first he tried to ignore the flashing red light coming from his Scroll, his stomach trembling with fear, but it was no use. His curiosity got the better of him. He pulled open his Scroll and stretched the muscles on his face into a scowl as the words "1 new message from Ty" beamed at him unsympathetically.

Automne took a deep breath and flicked the message open exasperatedly.

"Hey, Petunia, Eve, and Automne, don't come back to the room for a while. Me and Chartreuse are going to 'study' for a while. I'll send you a text when we've finished 'studying'."

Automne stared at the screen silently. He was less than ten feet away from his room. About seventeen feet from his bed. And just about fifteen feet away from where his crush was getting plowed by his team leader. Automne's lips twitched miserably as he cracked his mouth open to let out a defeated "Ehhhhhh," and with that visceral vocalization he fell onto his back like a rock.

His eyes twitched a bit as he stared at the gray ceiling and let out a sad whisper. "Why do you hate me universe? I try to do nice things. Is this because I accidentally hit that cat while I was riding my bike that one time?" Automne whimpered as he closed his eyes and shook his head gloomily. "I'm sorry random street cat, I didn't mean to hit you."

"Automne?"

"Street cat?!" Automne yelped in fear that the one eyed cat had found him, and at some point learned to speak Valition.

"Who's street cat?" Eve responded quietly, as she leaned over him. Her pale face, surrounded by her long jet black hair, looking down upon him with a timid if not gentle smile.

"Ub-uh, no one, no one." Automne evaded as he snapped back to social awkwardness. "What're- uh what're you doing here?"

Eve paused for a moment her eyes flickering nervously behind her glasses. "I- uhm, I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier… I was being inconsiderate."

"Eve, you don't need t-"

"Automne," Eve said quickly before falling silent. Her gaze shifted around a bit before it fell back onto Automne fearfully. "Am I a bad friend?"

"What?" Automne sat up quickly and spun around to give her a caring smile. "Eve, you're an awesome friend. I've just been letting my funk get the best of me."

Eve gave a soft sigh, her lips uncertain if she was supposed to smile or not.

Automne's mouth followed suit. "Eve, trust me, we're good."

Eve's eyes danced about the hall a bit more before an authentic smile spread across her lips. "I have an idea." She said cheerfully as she tried to stop herself from bouncing in place. "Let's go out! There's this really amazing diner in town my dad would always take me to and I've always wanted to show it to you. It'll be my treat."

Automne gave a small chuckle at Eve's almost unbridled enthusiasm. "Alright, but I'm going to pay for my own stuff."

"Uh uh, I insist, this is my treat for being a bad friend." Eve said, holding out her hand to Automne.

Automne gave her a small smirk and placed his hand in hers. "We'll talk about it on the way there." He said with a grunt as she pulled him to his feet.

* * *

The dim red lights struggled to push their way through the thick clouds of smoke that hung ominously in the dark windowless room. The only part of the room that some could describe as clear was a small circle in the center, illuminated by a single ceiling lamp.

"Bring him in." A gruff, slightly irate voice attached to a man in leather armchair demanded. A few moments passed before a man in a tricorn hat was thrown through the thick smoke, landing in the single illuminated circle.

The man bared a large gash on the left side of his face and his tattered clothes were covered in dirt. He kept his gaze on the large area rug beneath his knees. His blood trickled down the side of his bruised and cut face and fell onto the rug with an inaudible patter.

A heavy sigh mixed with a growl coming from a second leather armchair caused the man to tremble uneasily. "I suppose it wasn't bad enough that you lost us a high priority outpost and a weapons cache that was worth more than two million Lien. No," the words falling from her red lips venomously as she glared at the man on his knees. "You had to crawl back to us and soil my priceless rug with your blood and dirt."

"I'm so sorry," the man pleaded, holding a hand to his face to prevent any more blood from rolling off. "I'll get you a new rug. I sw-"

"Shut up." The man in the chair demanded impatiently as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "We didn't bring you in here to listen to you grovel. We want you to tell us exactly what happened to our outpost."

"The-there were thes-these-"

"Spit it out." The woman hissed, folding her arms and crossing her legs as she glared at the pirate.

"These kids! They- they broke in. They took out the security team somehow and broke into the server room. We tried to stop them, but then the whole place just started exploding. The next thing we knew we were caught in the rubble and-"

"You keep saying we, but all I see is a miserable captain who couldn't manage to defend our outpost." The man snapped causing the pirate to shake his head hopelessly. "And the worst part of all of this is you let them get into our network. You have jeopardized our entire operation." Cold spite dripping from his tired voice.

"No, no, I can fix this! I'll find them an-"

"You have done quite enough." The woman said as she stood and raised a long rifle sporting seven barrels in the shape of a honeycomb, two giant axe heads hanging beneath. "Your services are no longer required." She said simply, squeezing the trigger and unleashing all seven rounds into his chest.

The man in the arm chair gave a heavy sigh as the man fell back lifelessly, his blood and whatever remained of his intestines sloshing out onto the floor. "I hate dealing with the grunts." He grumbled as he stood and stretched.

"Send in whoever was next in line for his position and tell them to clean this mess up." The woman ordered as she rested her gun against her shoulder. "Now, let's talk about the kids who breached our network."

"Some other time perhaps." The man said as he headed for the door. "I don't want to be here when he voids his bowels."

The woman gave a groan and followed him out with a scowl, the pirate's blood dripping off her luxury high-heels as she went.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed it perhaps you could follow, favorite, and of course review. I had quite a bit of fun with this one and there is more to come, so stay tuned.**

**A big thanks to NinjaSlayer4x and Crimson Grave, I wouldn't be where I'm at if it weren't for them. Check out their stories when you get the time because they really deserve that attention.**

**Thank you for your time and readership. Until next time my good people, peace out.**

**-CS**


	18. Be back before curfew

"Noooooo," Eve whined shrilly, pulling her bedsheets up over her head.

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he walked up to her bed, a bottle of cold medicine in one hand. "Eve, please take some medicine."

"No," Eve's congested voice snapped from under the blankets. "I don't need medicine."

"Yes, you do." Automne said firmly, pulling a spoon from his pocket. "Now, just take a spoonful and try to get some rest." Automne politely ordered as he removed the cap from the medicine bottle.

"No, I don't need medicine, it's gross."

"A fine argument from a medical student." He mumbled as he carefully poured the thick dark medicine into the spoon.

"Automne, hurry up," Petunia shouted from the other side of the room where her and Ty were staring at a laptop intently.

"Give me a minute." He shouted back causing a few drops of the medicine to splash out onto the floor.

"I'm not taking any medicine, I feel fine." Eve whined pulling the covers down to reveal her bright red nose and puffy eyes. "I want to come with you on the mission."

"No, Eve," Automne stressed, pushing her back into her bed as she tried to rise into a seated position. "You have to stay here and get some rest."

"I'm fine, I'm just a little congested."

"Eve, you can't even focus your aura." Automne chided, his hand still pinning her down. Unfortunately for Automne Eve was not about to make pinning a teenage girl to a bed while balancing a spoonful of medicine a simple task for she immediately began squirming and whining up a storm. In the midst of all the squirming though something made Automne hum curiously. His stare quickly began to change in intensity as he focused upon her face for a few long moments. Calmly removing his hand from her shoulder he raised it to her face and lifted her bangs. With a small moan Eve writhed uncomfortably as Automne pressed his cold fingers against her forehead and frowned. "And I also think you have a fever. Where do you keep your thermometers?"

"In my med kit, but I don't have a fever. If anything I feel cold." Eve softly, yet stubbornly, denied.

"Alright, fine, even if you don't have a fever, I'm still not going to let you get out of this bed." His patience thinning as he struggled to balance the spoonful of medicine while extracting a thermometer from one of Eve's many medical kits. "It's too cold out tonight and it'll only make you feel worse."

"Automne, I feel fine, I'm coming with-"

"Open," Automne ordered, pulling out a pristine glass thermometer and shoving it into Eve's mouth.

Eve gave him an infuriated glare as she rolled the thermometer around to the corner of her mouth. "I'm coming with you." She slurred. "What if you need medical attention? Or what if you get into a fight? You'll need me."

"Eve, you're too sick to help do anything. I'd probably end up carrying you around for most of the night." Automne reasoned, pulling the thermometer from her mouth and holding it up to read. "A little over 38. You have a fever."

"It's probably wrong." Eve responded defiantly. "That's an old thermometer, you should've used one of the new ones. And even those have been proven to be-"

"Eve," Automne interrupted, a frown stretching across his face. "Please, just take the medicine."

Eve's eyes darted to the spoon that he was beginning to lift towards her mouth. In a flash, she pulled the blankets up to her nose childishly and looked at Automne fearfully. "Please don't make me." She whispered from behind the blanket, her periwinkle eyes quivering.

"Eve, it's just medicine. I don't…" Automne stopped and gave a heavy sigh as he kneeled down next to her bed. He stared at the spoon for a few moments before looking back to Eve, giving her a warm smile. "Alright, tell you what, if you take this medicine, maybe a bit more in the morning, and agree to get some rest, I promise I'll make you some chicken and waffles when you get better."

Eve's eyes widened, they bounced between Automne and the spoon a few times considering her options. She stared at Automne intently as the shifting came to a stop. "You can't go back on your promise."

"I never do."

Eve turned her attention to the spoon and stared at it miserably. "Hmmmmmm- alright." Eve surrendered weakly, slowly lowering the blankets. With trembling lips she opened her mouth and squinted until she could barely see the spoon.

Automne gave a relieved smile and placed the spoon into her mouth. Eve's lips closed around the spoon and her face quickly twisted in disgust as she forcefully swallowed the spoonful of medicine. "There, was that so bad?" Automne asked in an almost condescending tone as he wiped the spoon off on his sleeve while working hard to suppress a chuckle.

"Yes, it was awful!" Eve cried as she threw the blankets over her head and curled up into a ball of fabric.

Automne gave a small chuckle as he placed the spoon in Eve's med kit and stood up. "When I get back I'll make you some chicken soup. Try and get some rest while we're out."

Eve's only response came in the form of muffled whining about how she wasn't sick and how she just did it for the food.

Automne shook his head in amusement as he made his way across the room to Ty and Petunia, only stopping for a moment to pull the dividing curtain shut.

"'Bout time." Petunia slurred as Automne joined them at their makeshift command center. The command center, which was really just a table shoved into the corner and covered by some notepads, a laptop, and a half-dozen empty cans of Power Beast, made Automne cringe at how absolutely foul it smelled. The odor was the worst possible mixture of sweat and energy drinks that anyone outside a video game convention would ever know.

Like a man, Automne tried to ignore the stench by plastering his eyes to the laptop's screen while lightly gnawing at his tongue. Said screen was covered in large spreadsheets, a few initials sat perched atop each of the columns. Every box beneath was filled with numbers ranging anywhere from four to seven figures.

"Yeah, whatever, now tell me what we got?" Automne inquired running his eyes across the screen, perplexed.

"Well, as you can see, it looks like plans to blow up the moon." Petunia snapped as she scrolled down the page to reveal more and more of the numbers.

"It looks like we opened up their finances." Ty said quietly as he stared at the screen. "Petunia, you said earlier you found an address?"

"Yeah, it was towards the bottom of the page. I thought it might belong to whoever was running the operation or something. Turns out it's the address of a strip club down town."

"Hmm, do you think it could be a front?" Ty asked, taking the laptop from Petunia so he could look over the chart again.

"Maybe," She said. "While you guys were taking your sweet-ass time at dinner, I counted up the profits and it comes out in the millions."

"That doesn't seem super suspicious to me." Automne shrugged pulling out his Scroll so he could tap away at his tiny illuminated keys.

"Oh yeah, well that's just the profits for the past couple weeks. There are dozens of files on this system and I'm willing to bet that more than a few of them are finance tables just like this one." Petunia said as she rubbed at the large purple bags under her eyes. "Whoever these guys are, they're loaded. We need to get into that club."

"How're we supposed to do that? None of us look old enough to slip in there without being noticed. If they ask for ID we'll be out on the street in a minute." Automne warned as he stuffed his Scroll back into his pocket.

Petunia gave a proud smirk. "Fear not, pervert-"

"You're one to talk."

"- I figured out a way to hack into our Scrolls a long time ago. I'll just change our ages and we'll get in there with no problem."

"You know it's illegal to tamper with government issued ID's right?" Ty scolded.

"Yeah, but if the government never knows, they can't charge me now, can they?" Petunia said without the slightest hint of shame. She held her hands out to the two signaling them to pass her their Scrolls.

"Alright," Automne started hesitantly as he pulled out his Scroll and handed it to Petunia who ripped it from his hands like a greedy child. "So, what's the plan anyways? We're just going to go in there and look around for suspicious people?"

"Basically," Ty said simply, gently placing his Scroll in Petunia's hand. "What we gotta do right now is find out who these guys are, find out where the money is going and who's in charge, and then, when we have enough information, we'll strike the vital parts of their business and then watch them collapse in on themselves."

"Sounds easy." Automne mumbled as Petunia pulled up their ID screens and plugged them into her laptop. "So, when are we going to take off?"

"Right after Petunia changes our ID's." Ty replied, "You and I will go to the strip club and run recon while Petunia stays here-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Petunia interrupted with a confused frown. "What the hell do you mean 'I'm staying here'?"

"Well, what do you think it means? Because it's kind of self-explanatory."

"I am not staying here, I'm coming with you." Petunia demanded as she set down her laptop and the Scrolls.

"No, you're not. You've been hunched over that laptop for what, thirty hours? You're too sleep deprived to help. You'll probably get us caught."

"That, and you're the world's worst lesbian." Automne chimed in with a nod.

"Oh, shut up, virgin." Petunia shot at Automne before returning her tired glare to Ty. "Dude, I'm fine, plus I'm the one who's been hacking these stupid files for the past few weeks, I deserve to be there."

"No, we need you here feeding us any information you can scrounge up that might help us find out who's running this thing." Ty stressed. He gave the girl an empathetic frown and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Right now you're more useful to us here. So, please…"

Petunia gave a heavy groan and smacked his hand away. "This's fuckin' bullshit." She grumbled as she went to work on her teammate's Scrolls.

"Swear box," Eve's small tired voice moaned from across the room.

"Oh yeah," Automne said absentmindedly. "Petunia, while we're gone could you check up on Eve every now and then to make sure her fever isn't getting worse."

"Bite my ass."

Automne nodded his head a bit, "Alright, then."

* * *

"Hey, buddy… hey." Ty said in a mocking whisper as him and Automne shuffled down the dark, quiet streets of Vale. "Are you mad at me?"

"Ty, shut up." Automne snapped, his eyes not straying from the sidewalk.

"Come on, bro. We're cool, bro."

"We are not cool, and stop calling me bro. You're a douchebag."

"Nooooooo, we're cool." Ty replied happily as they rounded a corner and made their way up the block. "So, you bring plenty of ones?"

"Shut up!" Automne snapped again, his fixation on the sidewalk intensifying.

"I'll take that as a yes."

The Scroll on Ty's belt gave a loud buzz as Automne began to grumble to himself. Ty lifted the slab of technology up to eye level and pressed a couple buttons. "Hey, Petunia, I got you on speaker."

"Hey," Hints of resentment still dripping from Petunia's voice. "I managed to crack open a couple of files and I found a conversation between these guys that I thought you'd want to hear."

"Why, what were they talking about?"

"Well, it's not really a conversation. It looks a lot more like directions on how to get into the VIP room at the club you're going to. It says that to get in you have to go up to the DJ and tell 'er she's quote 'So hot she's almost scorching red'."

"Hmm," Automne hummed, "Seems like an odd way to get into the VIP room."

"Which is why I'm telling you." Petunia scoffed, as the duo passed a small group of prostitutes. "I think that's where all the illegal shit is going down. Try and get in there if you can. It'll probably be your best chance at getting information on whatever the hell all this is."

"Alright, thanks Petunia." Ty said, hanging up and reattaching the device to his hip. Looking up the street he gave a soft sigh as he straightened out his green and purple pin-striped shirt. "Hope you didn't need to stop by an ATM, 'cause we're here."

Automne looked up from the sidewalk to the large red neon sign that shined down upon them with thin shimmering letters. It was almost intimidating how the dark two story building towered over them, faint pink light seeping through the intricate floral patterned windows above. Automne's tongue worked hard to moisten his mouth as he tried to mouth the words: "The Oasis."

"C'mon, we don't have all night." Ty said quietly as the two stepped forward to a large, dark, brick house of a doorman.

Before the doorman could open his mouth the two had already pulled out their Scrolls and held them up for his examination. Surprised by their swift response the doorman took his fair share of time glaring at the screens. He looked them over a half dozen or so times before he pointed to the entryway with his thumb. "Keep your hands to yourselves, and enjoy the show, boys." He grumbled in a deep voice as he returned his eyes to the street around the club.

Automne took a deep breath as him and Ty shuffled forward into the dark, almost foreboding, entrance hall.

"Remember," Ty whispered as they edged their way in, cold sweat beginning to form on Automne's forehead. "If anyone asks, we're mercenaries."

"Yeah, yeah, man… I… I got it…" Automne trailed off as they entered the club proper.

Chills ran up and down Automne as he set his sights on the elevated center stage where a positively beautiful silver haired girl slowly spun on a shimmering pole. Automne's heart swelled with a mixture of joy and fear as blood, rapidly coursing through his body, surged its way into his cheeks and other regions.

"Dude!" Ty whispered irately, lightly shaking Automne by the shoulder.

"Huh?" Automne moaned, not taking his gaze off the silver haired dancer, her tan skin positively glowing beneath the hot magenta spotlights.

"I said let's go find a seat." Ty said in a fashion that resembled more of an order than a suggestion.

"Right… Yeah, sorry. I just… didn't hear you." Automne admitted in a daze, his voice slightly drowned out by the seductive and provocative music flowing through his body.

Impatient to see when Automne would actually take his eyes off the pole-dancer, Ty grabbed Automne by the elbow and dragged him over to a small table next to the wall. Unfortunately for Ty, the table still provided Automne a perfect view of the round center stage where the silver haired beauty was beginning to finish up her performance. "Dude, you need to focus." Ty stressed as he looked around the room uneasily. "You're going to get us caught."

"I'm just looking, dude." Automne tried to reason, his eyes still transfixed on the hips of the silver haired dancer as she made her way down a wide catwalk connecting the stage to a large luxurious curtain. "It's probably weirder that you're not looking."

"Hi there," A blonde in a plaid mini-skirt and matching bra said as she stepped up to the table. "Would you fellas like some company?" A large insincere smile revealing what she was really there for.

"Not right now, thanks." Ty said with a polite smile as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty Lien bill. "But, if it's not too much to ask, could you get us a couple of waters."

"Sure, babe." The woman replied with feigned sweetness as she took the bill from Ty and made off for the bar on the other side of the room.

Automne gave a long sigh as his heart pumped heavily in his chest.

With an unhappy grimace Ty snapped his fingers a few times. "Dude, focus."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm focused! Do you wanna tell me what I'm supposed to be focused on?"

"How about the obvious gang members all over the place." Ty said impatiently. He gave a subtle nod over to a few scattered groups of guys who were all either wearing black and white bandanas or just looked a tad too shady to be random strip club patrons. "They seem pretty acquainted with the girls, so it's safe to say that they come here often."

"Do you think they're the ones behind this whole… whatever it is?"

"I don't know; it's too early to tell." Ty glanced around the club a few times. "Why don't you go talk to the DJ?" He held up his thumb and pointed over his shoulder towards a DJ booth set up at the back wall near the large curtain.

"Why me?!" Automne yelped as he set his eyes on the thin orange haired DJ, whose head bobbed up and down with the beat of the music.

"Because you've been getting distracted by every single girl who crosses your line of sight. Besides, if that blonde one came back while I was gone you'd probably choke on your tongue."

Automne gave Ty a scowl and got to his feet with a bounce. "Screw you, dude." He said before he made off in the direction of the DJ.

'_Lousy ass jerk, thinks I don't know how to talk to women.'_ Automne spat internally as he briskly made his way past booths and chairs occupied by happy customers. _'I'm fine with women. I hang out with Eve all the time and- Holy hot fudge bunny slippers, the DJ's a girl.' _Automne gasped internally as he finally got close enough to the booth to realize the captivating orange haired DJ was dressed in nothing but a pair of gogo shorts and a simple dark-green bra.

'_Holy crap, how could I forget the DJ was a girl?! A hot girl?!'_ Automne asked himself as he stood there staring at the DJ who was too busy staring at a laptop to notice him. _'And she really is a girl-girl.'_ Automne's eyes lustily tracing over her subtle-slender curvature. _'Like she's probably only a couple years older than me! That's so hot!'_ Automne screamed internally, his nervousness becoming overwhelming. _'Automne, it's okay! It's okay, just play it off like normal. I mean seriously, what were you just telling yourself?' _

Automne stopped and took a deep breath before he nervously continued his journey over to the DJ's booth. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." He mumbled to himself until he made it to the foot of her booth. "Umm... hello."

She didn't respond. Her dark, emerald like eyes were fixated on the turntable.

"Umm," Automne hummed uneasily, glancing around a bit so he wouldn't stare. "Hi,"

The DJ glanced up at him. Her eyes stood, fixed on him for a second before she brushed her chin length orange hair, which hung loosely in front of her face, out of her eyes. "If you want to request a song, the answer is no." She remarked dismissively.

"No, it's not about the music. I like the music." Automne pleaded in a panic as he shuffled his feet nervously and tried to find some kind of use for his hands. "I- uh I wanted to come over here and s-say something." Automne stammered, the DJ's emerald eyes watching him closely all the while. "I just- uh- I… I uh think you're cute."

She stared at him blankly for a moment until a small smile started to grow across her pink lips. She held out her hand and beckoned him forward with one finger. "Come up here."

Automne eagerly agreed and quickly pulled himself up onto the stage as subtly as he could manage. In an effort to suppress his heavy breathing Automne casually sauntered behind her booth and continuously ran his eyes over her equipment rather than indulge himself on her.

"I usually don't get called cute around here." She giggled as she closed her laptop, and looked him over. "I take it this is your first strip club, right?"

"Uhhh, yeah," Automne's face practically searing as he tried to prevent himself from dropping his eyes below her neck. "I'm uh- uh a mercenary and we just came- that is me and a buddy - we just came into town. So we figured we'd umm… try this place… out."

The DJ ogled him with an exceedingly enthused smile. "You're cute." Setting both her hands on the edge of her table she puffed out her chest for Automne. A seductive smile spread her lips as she flexed her lean, pale body in an extremely lustful manner. "Usually I charge five hundred for a private dance, but since you're new to town, I'll make it four hundred even."

"I'd like that." Automne gasped breathlessly in a high pitched voice, his face and ears absolutely burning.

'_Focus, remember what you came here to do... Also you don't have four hundred Lien on you.'_

Automne cleared his throat and averted his eyes from the DJ's prurient pose. "Well actually umm, maybe in a bit, but I should really wait a bit because you're so hot you're uh-almost scorching red." Automne stammered, silently hoping he had remembered it correctly.

The DJ's eyes narrowed as her smile shifted into a smirk. Like a warm breeze she stepped forward and pressed her body against Automne's. She slowly raised her hand to his face and cradled it in her soft, delicate palm, draining Automne of whatever breath remained in his lungs.

Automne's lips quivered as he slowly began to lean forward to press his lips to hers.

She giggled slightly as she moved her thumb over his lips. "You're a lot more interesting than I originally thought." She whispered into his ear, her warm breath tantalizing his skin. "But kissing will cost you extra." Not pulling out of their embrace the DJ reached into her booth with her free hand and pulled out a black business card. "I guess we can talk about price upstairs though. Show this card to the bouncer near the bar and he'll take you up to the VIP lounge. I don't get a break for another half-hour, but if you're willing to wait, you and I could have some real fun." She finished with a lustful smile as she placed the card into Automne's hand.

Automne stood there blankly as she stepped back and returned to her laptop as though nothing had just happened. Automne's grip on the business card tightened as he tried to suppress his lewd thoughts. Calmly he pocketed the card and made his way down off of the stage.

"Tell them you're waiting on Pumpkin." the DJ called to him as he began to quietly shuffle away. "You know, if you want to have a good time."

Automne turned back to her with a warm, intoxicated smile. "Pumpkin, like the plant?" Automne asked curiously, his cheeks still burning red and his heart still pumping happily.

She gave him a large grin. "Or the pie."

Automne's cheeks started to burn with renewed energy as she gave him a playful wink and seductively waved goodbye.

Automne politely waved back and quickly, but calmly, walked back to the table and slammed his hands down onto it, causing Ty to jump back in surprise. "Ty, I need you to lend me a couple hundred Lien! I was talking to the DJ and she offered me a private dance and I think I'm in love with her and I will forgive you for everything that happened with Chartreuse if you lend me the money! Please, please be a good friend and lend me some money so we can fall in love."

"What the frick dude? We've been here for like ten minutes and you already think you're in love?" Ty inquired with furrowed eyebrows.

"You don't understand man, you haven't met her. I could feel the sparks and everything; it's love." Automne pleaded, his face twisted like a twelve car pile-up of emotions.

"You're not in love, you're horny. Now, did you find out anything from the DJ or not?"

"Yeah, she gave me a card and said we show it to some bouncer to get into the VIP lounge, but seriously dude, I'm in love. When she touched me there was just this energy there; I could feel it. I need to borrow money so we can get some alone time together."

"Show me the card?" Ty urged impatiently. His eyes shifted around the room cautiously as he bounced to his feet and swiped the card from Automne just as he pulled it from his pocket. He held the card low at his side as he examined it intently.

The rectangular card didn't have anything to hide however. It was just a solid black business card, with the only exception being a small purple dot that comfortably sat in the bottom corner of the card.

Ty rubbed the card between his index finger and thumb, eliciting a soft crisp sound, before ultimately deciding to pocket the parchment. "Which bouncer did she say?" Ty asked distantly, his eyes wandering around the room.

"The one by the bar." Automne replied tilting his head towards a large bouncer standing near a door by the bar; his love-struck passion subsiding as Ty's somberness pulled him back to the ground.

"You ready in case of a fight?"

Automne gave a proud smirk. "I'm always ready, dude."

"Like that time you discharged your pistol in the locker room?" Ty jabbed in the same restrained tone as he started off towards the slab of beef guarding the door.

"Hey, that mag was supposed to be empty."

"That's the same thing you said when you shot Petunia in the foot during last week's training exercise." Ty ridiculed as they made their way past tables packed with business men.

"Okay, that one wasn't entirely an accident." Automne shrugged quietly as they approached the bouncer who was eyeballing them like they were a couple of walking middle-fingers.

"What'ch you kids won'?" The bouncer slurred, crossing his arms and delivering unto them a leer that would've killed Automne if he were alone.

Automne opened his mouth to respond, but Ty quickly placed a hand on the center of his chest. Silently Ty pulled the card from his pocket and held it out to the bouncer who snatched it away, unimpressed by his flair.

The bouncer flipped the card over twice, lowered his gaze to the floor, and stepped back to push in the door.

"Present this card to the woman at the top o' the stairs, gentlemen." The bouncer said cordially, holding the card up for them between his fingers.

"Of course," Ty responded like he were some kind of professional hitman, taking the card back with so much force that he almost ripped it in half.

"Dude," Automne whispered through clenched teeth. "Wasn't that a bit much?" He asked as the bouncer closed the door behind them, leaving them alone in the dimly lit stairway.

"We gotta make it look like we belong here dude, besides that guy was just being an asshole."

"Well, yeah, okay, but we're probably going to stand out if we get our asses kicked."

"That's why I have you here. If something breaks out, I'll just throw you in the middle and book it in the other direction." Ty said with a smile as they climbed the stairs which were furbished with the loveliest carpet Automne had ever seen.

"Yeah right, I'd grab you by your ankles and hang onto ya' so we'd both die."

"They wouldn't kill us… immediately." Ty said with a grin as he took his final steps up the stairs, placing himself on the second floor.

Automne followed shortly after, struggling to maintain his smile. It wasn't Ty's playfully serious remark that was getting to him, nearly a month and a half of dealing with him every day practically made him immune to his jokes. It was the air that whisked away his comfort.

The air —if what he was struggling to breathe in could be considered air—made him cringe and set his nose aflame with every breathe he took. Thick, like smoke, this humid flower scented thing he was forced to call air was pressing against his face like a pillow. Automne cracked the corner of his mouth open and tentatively shuffled forward as if he were being weighed down by what felt like a hundred pounds of smog.

The only semblance of pleasure in this hell of a ten foot hallway was a cushy black door where enticing, etheric, neon pink light seeped out from its edges. Automne stepped forward eagerly, his arm outstretched in hopes that the air on the other side could actually be called air.

Before his fingers even had the chance to brush against the door's surface an alluring black haired woman pulled it inward. And just like that Automne's eyesight was now being assaulted by the curvaceous body of the dark haired woman.

"Gentlemen," the woman said cheerfully, her eyes flitting between them. "Welcome to the VIP lounge. May I see your card?" She asked politely as Automne stood and gawked at her.

"Ty," Automne gasped. "You've got the card." His eyes still pasted to the woman's tight-fitting, strapless leather dress which ended so far above mid-thigh that Automne was afraid he might start drooling.

"Here you are." Ty responded coolly, extending the card out to the woman.

Delicately she lifted it from Ty's hand and glanced it over before beaming brightly at the boys. "Right this way, gentlemen." She said cheerfully turning to lead the two down a hazy decadently designed hall.

Automne made to give Ty an unsure glance before setting off, but his partner was already trailing after the dark haired woman with no hesitation. Automne swallowed hard and glanced over the black and red pinstriped wallpaper which radiated ominously beneath the fluorescent pink lights before he broke into a speed walk to catch up to Ty. "Wait up." Automne called to Ty in a hushed tone as they passed by doorways sealed behind black curtains.

"Pick up the pace man." Ty hissed following closely behind their seductive escort.

Automne started to give an infuriated sigh, but about half-way through a certain offer from a certain orange haired DJ crossed his mind. "Umm, Miss, uh I'm kind of waiting on Pumpkin." Automne stammered as his cheeks started to burn again.

Ty came to an abrupt halt and turned to glare at Automne. "Dude-"

"I'll let her know you're waiting for her." The dark haired women replied with a soft, chipper giggle. "She should be ready to see you by the time you two finish your meeting."

The ire vanished from Ty's face as he turned to look back at the dark haired woman quizzically. "What meeting?"

"You'll see in a few moments." She replied vaguely, stopping at the end of the hall. She turned and took a single step to the side to give the two full view of a large black door, flanked by opaque windows. "The Manager's lounge, gentlemen." She said as she waved them towards the silver doorknob.

"The Manager's lounge?" Ty repeated in what he tried to pass off as a cool-headed panic.

"Yes, go right in." The woman insisted with an almost intense smile.

Ty looked over at Automne hoping for some sort of helpful input, but was only greeted with a shrug that seemed to say, "Why the hell are you looking at me?" Reluctantly Ty forced a smile onto his face and gave the woman a small nod. "Of course," he muttered, stepping forward and taking hold of the door knob. He took a shallow breath, turned the knob, and quickly pushed himself into the Manager's lounge.

Immediately an inexplicable comfort washed through both of the boys. If Automne were to speculate it most likely had something to do with the air, which unlike the air in the hall, was cool and nothing akin to breathing through a plastic bag. The décor probably would have been Automne's second guess. Two large leather sofas sat parallel each other at the center of the lounge, the pair divided by a glass-top coffee table. A small bar sat in the corner of the room where a couple of young women wearing luxurious lingerie sat on tall, leather and wood bar stools.

The wall behind the far sofa was almost entirely comprised of large windows, the glass broken into floral patterns by gray metal. Automne could make out parts of the street from between the patterns and the large red curtains which hung from shiny silver rods above.

"Welcome," A honeyed voice rising from a woman sitting on the sofa overlooking the doorway. An unpleasant smile sat on her lips as she lifted her smooth leg and crossed it over her knee; the fabric of her dark red skirt falling lightly into place over her thighs as she did. "Please, sit." Her exotic dark skin standing out boldly under the pink lights as her pleasant voice sent chills through them.

Automne and Ty complied. They shuffled quietly across the lush dark carpet and took their place on opposite ends of the closer couch.

One of the girls sitting at the bar quickly jumped off her seat and strutted over towards the two with a smile stretched across her lips. "Can I get you gentlemen anything to drink?"

"Holly," The woman on the sofa chimed, her dark hair shimmering as she turned to the girl. "Don't concern yourself with their orders; they're both underage."

Ty and Automne stiffened, glancing helplessly at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"Yes, Ma'am." The girl said with a bow before returning to her seat at the bar.

The woman on the couch turned back towards Ty and Automne with an amused smile. The black pearls hanging around her high-neck dark red dress and the pointed steel armor on her right arm glistened as she extended her right hand out towards them. "Your Scroll, please." She softly demanded, her ruby eyes digging into Automne.

Automne plunged his hand into his pocket, swiftly pulled out his Scroll, and handed it to the woman.

Snatching it away with a smile she opened it and began to flip through screens. "Hmmm," she soon purred, staring at the screen keenly. "Whomever altered your ID is truly an artist. I should ask you for their name, but I shall know it soon enough." Her tone becoming more solemn toward the end as she tossed Automne's Scroll into his lap.

"Who are you?" Ty said with a stiff grimace.

"I could ask you the same question." The woman replied with a scowl. "I saw your friend's name on his Scroll, but I haven't made your acquaintance yet." A smirk parting her lips while her foot bobbed up and down like a fishing lure.

"My name doesn't matter, but you're our host and it only seems appropriate that you share your name." Ty insisted, earning him a glare from the woman.

Slowly, she uncrossed her legs and reclined back on the sofa. "Did you boys enjoy my club?" She asked without the tiniest shred of enthusiasm.

Ty opened his mouth to respond, but went silent when the door opened and four lovely young women stepped in, and made their way over to the manager's couch. Sitting up the woman gave a soft sigh and draped her right arm over the back of the sofa.

Automne's chest grew tight as his aura urged him to dive to the floor.

In an instant the woman in the red dress stood up and pulled a large twin headed battle axe out from behind the sofa. Without thinking Automne flung himself forward off of the couch and onto the ground as she swung the weapon down through the air, smashing the coffee table and sending glass flying.

Automne quickly rolled over onto his back and was greeted by the barrels of a couple pistols.

"Aww crap." Ty slurred as he found himself in the exact same situation.

"On your knees." The scantily clad women urged.

"Lay down the tarp, I don't want them getting blood on my carpet." The manager demanded as she pushed the broken pieces of the coffee table aside with her axe.

"Yes, ma'am." One of the gun toting strippers said obediently while Ty and Automne tensely crawled to their knees.

"I certainly hope you boys enjoyed your time in my club, because I for one know you will not enjoy much of anything for the rest of your short lives." She slid a small metal panel on the handle of her weapon forward causing the back of the shaft to bend into a rifle stock. She took the weapon in both hands as the blades rotated under the seven barrels that swiftly emerged from the head with a hiss. "You boys are going to tell me whatever I want to know, and if you don't, my girls will make you." Her eyes drifted between the two as one of her girls threw a tarp down over the mostly cleared ruins of the coffee table. "We'll start with the green one. He's clearly begging for our attention."

Ty jerked his head at Automne, waggling his eyebrows a bit. "I really think you should start with him." All turned to stare at him, unamused. "He'd probably crack in no time flat."

Automne gave a low growl, lightly flexing his entire body. "Oh screw you, Dude. You're just always out to ruin my life aren't you?"

"Oh here we go again. What are you going to start on this time; The Chartreuse thing?" Ty suggested with the rolling of his eyes.

"Yes the 'Chartreuse thing'. You knew I liked her and you went for her anyways."

"You can't call dibs on people, Automne. Besides, you were never going to go for it anyways."

"Well, who are you to decide that? I probably would have gotten the courage to ask her out eventually."

"Oh please, you're not fooling anyone." Ty scoffed, while their captors glanced amongst themselves irritated and confused.

"Screw you, and you know what, I think you just want me to be unhappy. Because now that I've found someone awesome and fallen in love, you won't even support me."

"Dude," Ty said flatly. "You're in love with a whore."

"Don't talk that way about her!" Automne shouted, lunging forward at Ty, his hands outstretched towards his neck.

"You couldn't kill me if I was blind and retarded!" Ty barked grabbing Automne by the wrists and pulling him down onto the ground where they rolled in a tussle.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to make you blind, retarded, **and **deaf!" Automne screamed as he managed to push his goggles down over his eyes.

"That's enough of this," the woman in red hissed, taking aim at the two. "Blow their legs off."

"Alright," Ty grunted as he rolled onto his back, Automne lying on top of him. "Let's go!" Ty exclaimed as he dug his heels into the carpet and pushed off it hard.

Automne closed his eyes and clung to Ty tightly as they weightlessly pushed through a monochrome version of the lounge and out through the window over-looking the street. With a loud pop they regained their color about half-way out in the street and from there they fell about twenty feet to the asphalt below with a thud.

"Ahhgh!" Automne groaned as he rolled off of Ty, clutching his chest. "You couldn't have put us on the ground?" Automne wheezed as he rolled into the fetal position.

"You try teleporting through a wall while lying down." Ty growled as he rolled onto his shins and stumbled to his feet. "Oh wait, you can't."

"It was glass." Automne croaked, pushing himself off the ground. "Oh, and by the way, not cool, dude. Don't talk crap about Pumpkin."

"Who?"

"The DJ. I know we were playing it up a bit, but don't talk bad about her, or I'll hurt you."

"Oh for the love of Dust man. She. Works. At. A. Strip. Club. It's her job to seduce you. You can't be this-"

There was a loud clatter from the second floor of The Oasis as the women smashed the glass away. Their glares burning into the two who were still standing right in front of the club.

"-stupid." Ty whimpered.

"Maybe this isn't the best place to finish this conversation." Automne suggested meekly before him and his partner broke into a sprint, a hail of gunfire following them on their heels.

Meanwhile, the woman in the red dress sat dawn on her sofa with a sigh. Propping her weapon against the armrest she pulled out a Scroll from within the folds of her dress and held it to her ear.

There was a soft click, almost inaudible over the sound of gunfire. "It's Rouge, they're heading you're way." She held her Scroll aside, ended the call, and tossed the device across the sofa. She glared down at the shattered coffee table with disdain as her employees quickly ran out into the hall reloading their weapons. "What a mess."

* * *

**To be continued... obviously.**

**-CS**


	19. Do you know how late it is?

Automne panted heavily, his back pressed against an alley corner. Cautiously, he stuck his neck out and looked up and down the street, his eyes practically bulging out of his head behind his goggles. "Okay…I think we're good." He murmured to Ty, who was crouching next to a couple tin trashcans. "I don't think they're following us."

"Alright," Ty started in a tone that seemed too upbeat for someone who just got shot at. "Well, if that's all done, let's head back. We've got a lot to tell Petunia and Eve."

"T-ty" Automne stammered "A-are you sure we should tell them?"

"What do you mean?" Ty inquired as he stepped out onto the illuminated sidewalk and started to briskly make his way down the street. "Why wouldn't we tell them?"

"I don't know, I was just… kind of thinking, maybe, we could abandon this whole thing. Just pretend we never found those files and just get back to doing normal school stuff."

Ty's swiveled his head so he could leer at Automne for a moment. "Are you kidding? Dude, if we crack this thing open and expose whatever it was that was going on back there, we'll be heroes."

"Dude, I don't know if this whole thing is worth it. I mean seriously, that lady was going to torture us." Automne said warily, following after Ty glumly.

"We've gone through worse. Remember that PowerPoint Eve gave us on personal hygiene?"

"Dude, we could've died," Automne stressed. "They were going to kill us and we barely got out of there by the skin of our noses."

"'Skin of our noses'?"

"I don't remember the saying! You know what I'm getting at." Automne bellowed as they made their way down the sidewalk, streetlights flickering above them. "I just really think we should get out of this while we still have our legs intact. Maybe… maybe turn our information over to Baula or something."

Ty stopped abruptly and turned to Automne with a scowl. "No."

"Oh, come on, it's better than us risking our lives to try and stop some faceless criminal organization from doing something that we don't even know anything about. We're risking our lives for nothing." A worried frown stretching Automne's lips.

Ty continued to scowl at Automne, eyes burning with anger and disappointment. Slowly Ty turned around and pulled his Scroll from his belt. "I'm calling Petunia."

Automne gave a heavy sigh and continued to shuffle forward across the dirty, garbage covered sidewalk.

"Y'know-Ahhhhh!" Ty yelped, whipping his Scroll away from his ear. "What the hell?!" He shouted, covering his ear with his hand.

"What happened?" Automne asked staring at Ty.

"This," Ty grunted switching his phone to speaker mode.

Automne grit his teeth as the Scroll let out a loud, shrill, electronic hiss. "Turn it off!"

"No, let's leave it on." Ty quipped sarcastically before ending the call with his thumb.

"Ugh," Automne groaned, glaring at the Scroll, unsettled. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Ty looked up and down the street. Slowly, he tilted his head upwards to watch the streetlights flicker like dying candles. "We should move." Ty suggested, clipping his Scroll back to his belt and continuing off down the sidewalk.

Automne stalled for a moment, looking back down the street unsurely before trailing after Ty. An unpleasant lump was making itself comfortable at the bottom of Automne's stomach as Ty and him speed walked down the deathly silent street.

The streetlights were still flickering ominously and every window that overlooked the street was nothing but an inky black frame. An assortment of garbage, caught on the breeze, scraped past Automne's ankles lightly skidding against the ground as the wind petered out. Automne swallowed hard as the lump in his stomach clawed its way into his chest and licked at his throat.

Automne could feel them. Eyes running across his clothes. His eyes darted up and down the street; it was still lifeless. Perhaps the most vexing part, at least in Automne's eyes, was the lack of cars. There wasn't a single car parked on the entire block. Automne looked up the street and squinted hard, hoping to see some evidence of life. A thick shroud of fog, appearing from thin air, had no intent of cooperating however.

Automne rolled his shoulders and let out a heavy breath which rolled from his mouth like a small cloud. Before Automne had the opportunity to feel surprised a cold wind blew past him, shaking him like a leaf. "It's getting kind of cold." Automne remarked simply as he pulled his scarf up over his mouth.

"Yeah… it is." Ty said distantly as a small cloud of condensation rolled from his mouth.

"Does it usually get cold like this around here?" An unsettling fear gnashing at his flesh as he traced his eyes across the dozens of blackened windows overlooking the street.

"No, that's the-"

"That's the wh-oof!" Automne grunted as he walked into Ty who had come to a halt at the street corner. Automne staggered back and glared at Ty for a moment.

Ty was stiff as a statue. His eyes, cold and hard like steel, were cutting into a figure leaning against a wall on the street corner diagonal theirs.

The figure, from where they were standing, could be described as nothing more than a black human shaped blotch. The head of the blotch tilted slightly. "I've been waiting for you boys." The blotch said with a genuine geniality that made Automne's skin crawl.

"You son of a bitch." Ty spat stepping from the curb and into the intersection. His eyes transfixed upon the dark figure.

"Ah, you do remember me, Deputy Inuhoozuki… Wait," The voice said somberly. "You are no longer with the police. You're a Huntsman." The figure said with disdain as he stepped out onto the street corner. While no longer concealed amongst the fog Automne still had trouble making out the man.

His face was concealed behind one of the helmets usually worn by the Vale soldiers. The mysterious figure had made a few changes however, those being; the bluish-gray threadbare fabric seemingly nailed over the helmet's mouth and its solid, obsidian black paint job. The rest of the man's garb consisted of a worn black leather jacket, adorned with thin, matte, gray metal sheets over his ribcage and a pair of black denim pants bearing matte gray armor on his shins.

His outfit didn't do him justice however. His attire reminded Automne of a simple street thug; just a common low-life. His voice and the very way the fog drifted around him as he stepped into the intersection were something else. His voice, coarse and stern – even in tones that seemed casual – demanded and, with little effort, attained their attention.

"I wasn't sure if you'd remember me or not. It has been a while." Amusement heavy in the man's voice as he reached behind his back, the handle of a sword peeking over his shoulder. "So, to be safe, I brought a souvenir." The man pulled out a police officer's hat from behind his back and tossed it onto the ground in front of him.

Ty balled his hands into fists as he stared at the hat. His body trembling as short, cold breaths rolled from his mouth like steam.

"You were working with Officer Clover that day weren't you?" The man asked with an evident amount of glee. "I actually saw you and your partner meet up with him at that coffee shop on Main. I considered killing all three of you there, but there were too many people in my way. Regardless, his badge makes a nice addition to the collection." The man said with a slight nod.

Automne's eyes darted from Ty to the cop killer fearfully. Automne licked his lips and held his hand out to Ty's back. "T-Ty-"

"Would you like to know what his last words were?"

Ty had had enough. He took hold of his sword and broke into a sprint towards the murderer.

The murderer retaliated immediately. He briskly stepped forward; his hand fastened tightly to his sword's grip; the fog bending around him wildly.

"Oh crap." Automne mumbled to himself as Ty rushed forward and disappeared into thin air a few feet in front of the man.

The man swiftly planted his right foot firmly on the ground in front of him and twisted back to face the street corner behind him. With his free hand the man made an upward, diagonally slicing wave as Ty appeared in front of him.

As Ty raised his sword over his shoulder, preparing for a downward slash, the fog around him crackled deafeningly as an angled wall of icicles burst from the ground at his left. Ty staggered right to avoid being impaled, but was quickly punished as the murderer pulled a long, straight war cleaver from the sheath on his back and brought it down upon Ty without restraint. Ty, stumbling backwards, lifted his sword to block the assault, but was smacked in the mouth with his own weapon as the blades bounced off each other.

The man gave a small chuckle as Ty stumbled backwards onto the curb. "You pigs all act the same. Once I realized that, cutting you down became so simple." The man paused for a moment to take a couple steps backwards. "You want to try again?" He mocked, aiming the pointed tip of his gray cleaver at Ty's throat.

Ty sat on the ground, glowering at the masked man as he ran a thumb over his lips. "You're nothing but a murderer." Ty hissed as he slowly slid his free hand towards his ankle. "And once I kill you I'm going to take back all the badges you stole."

"Hmm," The murderer hummed, tugging his jacket lightly to illicit a soft, metallic jingle. "It's almost funny, Lieutenant Brooks told me the exact same thing before I cut his head off." He pulled at his jacket again. "I have his badge on me now."

Ty gave a furious growl and grabbed the pistol he was carrying on his ankle. "Die!"

Ty was too slow however, for as he began to pull the weapon from its holster the murderer reached out with his hand, balled it into a fist and pulled it back towards himself. As Ty began to raise the gun a solid pillar of ice emerged from the fog behind him. The ice smashed into the back of Ty's head, knocking him forward with a jolt.

The murderer quickly capitalized. Stepping forward he delivered a solid kick to the side of Ty's face. Broken glass and plastic flew from Ty's glasses as the man drove his face to the ground under the guidance of his boot. The Murderer let out a soft chuckle as he ground the side of Ty's head into the freezing asphalt.

"It's a shame really." He mumbled, sliding his boot down onto Ty's neck, making Ty choke loudly. "The fact that you're not wearing a badge. I guess I'll just have to find something else to take as a souvenir." The man raised his cleaver.

"Pop. Pop." Automne's gun whispered, sending two rounds into the murderer's back.

The murderer, unfazed by the impact of being shot, slowly lowered his weapon and calmly turned to face Automne.

Automne's chest was rising and falling quickly. His drawn weapons quivered lightly in his hands. He readjusted his grip on his pistol and ninjato to show the man he had no intentions of sitting this one out.

The cold air nipped at Automne as he stared down his opponent. Aside from the sound of Ty writhing beneath the murderer's heel there was silence.

The man let out a low growl. "Are you seriously going to stand in my way?" The man asked, annoyed.

Automne trembled slightly. Hesitantly, he puckered his lips and reasserted his stance.

A thick sheet of ice coated Ty's neck as the man removed his boot. He quickly made his way towards Automne. "I'm going to teach you a lesson about standing between me and a kill, boy."

'_Crap!'_ Automne screeched internally. He quickly took a couple steps back and fired two more rounds in the direction of the approaching murderer. As Automne began to formulate a plot in his mind he stepped backwards onto a patch of ice. His stomach rolled in his belly as he fell onto his back, slamming his head against the roadway with a thud.

He let out a loud groan as he scrambled to push himself onto his elbows. The world around him a giant, dark blur which refused to stop spinning. Unfortunately for him his attacker had no such issue.

The murderer quickly stepped forward and kicked Automne under the jaw, sending his head back down to the road with a crack. As Automne writhed the murderer stalked around him, glaring from behind his helmet. As Automne's twisting began to subside the man swiftly raised his cleaver above his head and brought it down upon Automne's chest. He watched Automne squirm for a moment before repeating the assault.

Sharp, sickening smacks sounded through the streets as the murder raised his weapon again and brought it back down onto Automne's chest.

Automne let out a wheezy gasp, his blindness suppressed by the fatigue in his chest he looked up at his attacker with dread. As the man raised his weapon a fourth time Automne channeled his semblance and rolled off to the side, invisible.

'_Escape. We gotta escape.'_ Automne's brain whimpered as he got to his hands and knees. This was proving to be a challenge though since the murderer had just taken hold of the back of his scarf and was now using it to strangle him.

Hunching down, the murderer drove his knee into Automne's spine as he pulled back on his scarf. "Should've stayed out of this." The man hissed as Automne dropped his weapons and began to claw at his throat.

Automne coughed violently as the yellow and black fabric scraped and burned his neck. Automne tried to tug back against the scarf, but it was useless, he was nowhere as strong as the murderer.

"Hey jackass," Ty croaked from the center of the intersection, sword in hand. "I'm not done with you." He said as he pressed forward on his weapon's handle to set the tips of his sword ablaze.

The murderer paused for a moment before he released Automne with a sigh. "Like I said earlier; you all act the same." The man calmly stood and began to make his way towards Ty.

Automne gave a heavy gasp. As oxygen started to flow back to his lungs, weak, raw energy burned at his intestines. He scooped up his weapons as fast as he could manage and quickly pushed himself onto his feet. His scarf scraped against his face as he charged at his attacker's back with the small amount of energy he managed to muster up.

His right hand gripped tightly around his ninjato and the distance rapidly closing Automne drew one final breath.

He stabbed outwards.

The murderer gracefully dodged. Spinning around, he grabbed Automne by the wrist and slashed at his right calf, splattering blood across the ground.

Pain shot through Automne's leg as the murderer yanked him up by the wrist and pulled him close. As Automne stared into the madman's mask an ice cold piece of metal pierced Automne's back. Warm liquid began to soak the back of Automne's clothes as the man released his wrist and shoved him backwards onto the freezing ground.

"Automne!" Ty shouted, his eyes jumping from the murderer's blood soaked blade to his teammate.

"Now then," The man started, turning back to Ty. "Now that that's out of the way, let's get back to our business." He said as if he had just killed a pesky fly.

Ty gritting his teeth broke into a sprint. As his opponent gave a chuckle and prepared for his assault Ty snapped his sword to his belt. With a deep growl Ty used his semblance to jump through the murderer. Reappearing with a pop, the chilling fog bending around him, Ty landed at Automne's feet. Hurriedly he grabbed his downed teammate's weapons and scooped up Automne in his arms.

"Hey!" The murderer barked as he turned to see Ty rising with Automne in his arms. "We're not done here."

Ty scowled at the man. "No, we're not." His gaze lingered for a few more moments before he broke into a sprint and blinked his way down the street.

The man turned silently to watch Ty disappear around a corner. His gaze still fixed on the corner he gave a heavy sigh, causing a thick fog to seep out from behind his mask.

* * *

"Aggggggghhhh!" Automne groaned in agony as Ty pressed a wadded up newspaper against the stab wound on his back.

"Quiet, dude. That guy could still be out there." Ty warned as he pulled a roll of duct tape from a plastic bag and began to unfurl it.

"Ty, take me to Eve." Automne whined as Ty cut the tape with his teeth. "Actually, no, don't take me to Eve, she'll be upset with me."

"Dude, quiet down and stop moving." Ty demanded as he pressed the tape down against the newspaper.

"Ahhh! Easy!"

"If you want 'easy', go to Eve. This is the best you're getting from me, a corner store, and ten Lien." Ty snapped as he broke off another piece of tape and put it over Automne's calf.

"Ahhh! Shit!"

"Yeah, well if you think that's bad, imagine how it's going to feel when we try to take it off." Ty joked as he tossed aside the roll of tape and got to his feet. Slowly, he lifted open the lid to the dumpster they were hiding in and looked around. "I don't see anyone. We'll wait a minute and, if it looks clear, we'll book it."

"Ty," Automne started softly. "If- if I die, I wa-"

"Dude, don't say that, you're not going to die."

"No, Ty, I need to say this." Automne said earnestly through heavy breaths. "Ty, if I die, I want to let you know that this is your fault."

Ty gave a heavy sigh. "Really?"

"It's also Petunia's too. Like, I'd probably be in bed, sleeping, if it wasn't for you and Petunia… I also probably could've gotten laid if it wasn't for you."

Ty rolled his eyes and lifted the lid to the dumpster. "Anything else?"

Automne paused for a moment. He glanced around the dumpster and reclined back against one of its garbage soaked walls. "Can… can you tell Eve that I'm sorry."

There was a brief moment before Ty turned to Automne. He stared at his blood soaked partner and gave a soft sigh. "No… You're going to have to tell her yourself after I drag your stupid ass back to Beacon."

Automne gave a chuckle as he ran his sleeve over his eyes. "My leg's feeling kind of dead, can you carry me?" Automne asked with outstretched arms.

"That depends, are you going to start singing that stupid song again if I do?" Ty asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Automne gave a loud chortle as he wiped at his nose. "No homo, bro."

"Well, I guess I'm leaving you here then." Ty said, pushing the lid to the dumpster open.

"Fine, I guess I'll just live in here with Wilson then. Ain't that right Wilson?" Automne joked as he lifted an almost empty pizza box which he had quickly painted a smiley face onto with his blood . "That's right Automne!" Automne said in a high pitched voice. "We're going to eat garbage, and live with rats an- _**cough cough**_!" Drops of blood flew from Automne's mouth as he coughed.

"We need to get you some medical attention." Ty said simply, grabbing Automne by the underarms.

"Yeah, we probably should."

* * *

A bitter frown sat upon the face of Rouge as she angrily sifted through the pages of a luxury home décor catalog. Her lips pursed and her eyebrows furrowed as she ran her eyes across pathetically average looking coffee tables.

"Ma'am," A brunette wearing nothing but her underwear said from the doorway.

"I said: I don't wish to be disturbed." Rouge hissed, her eyes still on the catalog which she loathed.

"Yes, of course, but you have a visitor." The girl replied. Wordlessly she stepped aside to allow a man wearing a black helmet to enter.

Rouge glanced up at him, gave a tired sigh, and tossed aside her catalog. "Did it go well?"

The man unhooked the fabric from one side of his mouth piece and let it hang. "Define: 'well'." The man groaned tiredly, taking a seat on the sofa opposite hers.

"Arsenic," She chided, giving him an exasperated glare. "Did they get the message?"

He paused for a moment. "I was very clear… If you don't believe me, ask one of your informants. How many did you have following me? Two, or was it three?"

"I just wanted to hear your take on the subject."

"Well then, what's your take on the matter?" Arsenic retorted with a scowl.

Rouge fell silent. Her eyes scanned over him a few times before she snapped her fingers causing the blonde at the bar to jump to life. "I was told you were very… thorough."

Arsenic cocked his head to the side. "Is that an issue?"

"Do you think that was wise?" Rouge held her hand out to the side where a highball glass filled with crimson alcohol was delicately placed in her fingers.

"I think I made an example out of Noire. He'll survive… Speaking of which," He chimed as he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small square tablet. "I attached that device to Automne's Scroll."

"Excellent," She said with a smile, staring into her drink. "All I have to do now is have my technician activate that device and we'll be able to hear everything Noire hears."

Arsenic gave a small smirk. "Eyes _and_ ears on the pests. Ain't that a relief?"

"If we were thorough enough tonight, we won't even need to worry about them anymore."

"Let's hope so," Arsenic sighed as he looked down at the shattered remains of the coffee table. "What happened to your table?"

Rouge glanced down at the table from over the rim of her glass. "I smashed it." She admitted disinterestedly.

"Hmm, well, at least that's one less thing for you to complain about." Arsenic mumbled as he slouched back on the sofa.

"I just hope I'm able to find a decent replacement before phase four begins." Rouge sneered, throwing her head back and emptying her glass.

"Don't worry, I'd say you have a few more weeks." The sadistic murderer grumbled tiredly. "After that you can redesign the entire city if you want."

Rouge gave him a sinister smile. "I'll toast to that." She chuckled, raising her glass into the air.

* * *

**I hope y'all enjoyed it.**** This was an amazing year (Posted Dec. 31, 2015) and I hope you all have enjoyed the ride. There's more to come in the future so I hope you stick around until then.**

**A huge thank you to all you fans out there. I love writing and I'm glad I'm able to share this with all of you. And thank you to my editor and the close friends whose opinions and input are invaluable.**

**It was a fun year and I wish you all many more to come. Stay tuned, but until next time peace out.**

**-CS**


	20. Here, let me kiss it

"His name is Arsenic." Ty said, pinning a grainy photo of the masked murderer to the wall with a kunai. "At least that's what his street handle is."

Eve sat at Automne's bedside, looming over the dirty-blonde with her emergency medical supplies laid out on the nightstand beside her. "What's his real name?" She softly inquired, her puffy eyes fixated on the needle she was carefully running through Automne's skin. Her voice still a few notes off from her usual tone as she tried to suppress the annoyance that was her cold.

"If the police knew we would have plastered it on every billboard, newspaper, and TV in the city a long ass time ago." Infuriation budding in Ty's voice as he crossed his arms. Ty glanced over at Eve, who was too busy diligently stitching the stab wound on Automne's back under dreadfully poor lamp-light to notice his frustration. With a small scowl he returned his eyes to the picture of Arsenic. "He's wanted for the murders of over twenty people, and he's the prime suspect in nearly thirty other homicide cases. He's also the suspected head of a local gang called 'The Phantoms'. However, aside from most of the murders being linked to the gang, VPD has turned up almost nothing proving he's even involved with them."

"Phantoms," Petunia slurred distantly, sitting at the head of Ty's bed. Her interest finally stirred enough for her to look at Ty with something other than exasperation. "Haven't they been in the news recently?"

"Almost on a weekly basis." Ty responded, ire and shame dripping from his voice as he leaned back against the wall. "Over the past couple years they've gone from a run-of-the-mill street gang to one of the most prominent, well-organized, and violent gangs in the city. They've practically been at war with every other gang in Vale for the past year."

"So, what, they're trying to take control of the city or something?" Petunia asked, her tone an excellent mixture of curiosity and boredom.

"Basically," Ty shrugged. "When Arsenic came in, he completely restructured the Phantoms and the way they operate. Military tactics, secure communication channels, top of the line weaponry; they're almost like a militia group. They've even started to refer to themselves as 'The Phantom Clan'."

"Haven't heard that in the news."

"That's intentional. When gangs give themselves names like that people get scared. They start believing they're too big to be brought down." Ty paused for a moment and glanced back at the picture of Arsenic. He took a breath, exhausted. "Last time I heard, the department speculated that the Phantoms would control more than half of Vale's criminal underworld by the end of this year."

"Well then," Petunia started cheerfully. "Let's just find this Arsenic guy and take him down. If he's the head, then the whole organization will just fall along with him. Boom, done!" She finished with a proud smile as she pulled her laptop out from under Ty's pillow.

"Yeah, look up his address and we'll head on over in the morning." Ty scoffed, earning him a glare from the blue haired girl. Ty returned the response with his own brand of snark, before elaborating. "After he killed Officer Woods two years ago the police conducted a manhunt that spanned the entire city. Every house was searched twice, and they couldn't find a single shred of evidence to prove he was even in the city. Four months later he murdered Deputies Fisher and Beach in broad daylight. We locked down the city for three days, and we turned up nothing."

The air hung heavy and dry between Petunia and Ty. Like acid the air nipped at Ty's steel colored eyes as he glared into Petunia. An icy calmness surrounding him as he refused to falter.

Petunia leered on, her eyes filled to their brim with regret.

And on the wayside Eve's periwinkle eyes bounced between the two. She gave a small sniffle. "So… Ty, if we can't locate Arsenic, what should we-"

"Ahh!" Automne yelped in pain. Laid out on his stomach, Automne pressed his face into his pillow, his balled fists clutching his sheets. "Eve," Automne groaned, slightly muffled by his pillow. "can you please hurry an-"

"Quiet." Eve snapped, glaring at the back of his head. "I told you you'd need me out there, and look what happened." Her eyes crossly shifting between his stab wound and his sewn up calf.

"Eve, you're sick, you couldn't have done anything." Automne groaned through grit teeth.

"I could have stopped you from getting stabbed." Eve chided bitterly as she went back to work on sewing up Automne.

Automne gave a pained sigh, sweat virtually pouring from his face. "Eve, I was in good condition before that fight-"

"That's debatable." Ty added dryly. A small smile resting upon his lips as he gleefully watched the two bicker.

"Shut up!" Automne grunted at his traitor of a partner.

Eve, not phased by the short fracas, aimed a low soft growl at Automne as she cut the last thread to his stitches, and covered it with a large bandage. "There, now please put your shirt on." Eve ordered with a frown as she began to return her supplies to her med kit.

Automne gave a heavy sigh. "Eve, what I'm trying to say is if you came with us you could've gotten hurt. Probably a lot worse than me, and I…" Automne rolled his head to the side to face away from Eve. "I can't take care of you like you take care of me."

Eve's packing abruptly stopped. There was a small pause between the two as the exchange sank in. Eve gave the back of Automne's head a hard, solemn look.

Calmly, she set down her med kit, pushed aside her chair, and kneeled down beside Automne's bed. She tried to take a deep breath as she clasped her fingers together, but her congested nose only allowed for a loud suppressed sucking sound.

Curious as to what was going on behind his head, Automne craned his neck back around to look at her. Confusion, mixed with a hint of shock blindsided him as he looked across at her. "Eve, what are you doing?"

"You're in pain, I'm going to heal you." She said simply as she attempted to channel her aura.

"Eve, no," His softened expression immediately turning back to a serious frown. "You're still sick. You're going to strain yourself."

"It's just a cold, I'll be better in a day."

"If you'll be better in a day, then you can try this tomorrow."

"I'm not going to let you be in pain all day."

"I'll be fine for one day. You need bedrest."

"I can't help you if I'm sleeping."

"Then Petunia can help me."

Petunia's silent amusement wavered at the sign of responsibility. "Hey, I want no part in this."

"Then it's settled," Eve said confidently, her eyes shut tightly as she struggled to focus her aura. "I'm going to tend to you while you heal."

"No," Automne chimed impatiently. "You're going to take some medicine, and get some rest."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Automne!"

"Eve!"

"Shut up!" Ty shouted, his fingers pressed against his temples, his patience depleted by their squabbling. The two looked to him in surprise - Automne a tad slower on account of the fact that he had to make a three point turn to look the other direction. "Automne, properly thank her for fixing your sorry ass."

Automne quietly, and without any other input, turned back to Eve. To whom he delivered a purely heartfelt, "Thank you."

"And Eve," Ty started again as soon as the sentiment had finished settling in. "You need bedrest-"

"But Ty,"

"-EPEPEPEPEP! No back talk! You're going to take some more of that medicine and you're going to bed." Ty demanded with a pointed finger to establish his dominance. "I'll be taking care of Automne until you get better. So, unless Automne goes into shock, I don't want to see you near him."

"Dude, she gets it." Automne said, rising —metaphorically that is— to Eve's defense. "You don't have to be so-"

"Shut. Up." Ty ordered heatedly, his finger of authority pointed directly at Automne's face. "As of tonight we know who those files belong to. A crazed, murderer who's vying for control of Vale's criminal underworld. This is no longer just about showing up Baula or becoming heroes. We're going to topple Arsenic and everything he's built. From that lady at the strip club to every gun toting gangbanger under him. We're going to take them down, all of them."

There was a brief pause as they all soaked in Ty's speech.

"Wait," Eve said, interrupting the reverence. "You two went to a strip club?"

"Oh my Dust, Eve, it was amazing." Automne chuckled with a huge smile. "And you'll never believe this; I fell in love."

"F-fell in love?" Eve sputtered, horrified. "Who is she? What's her name? How old is she?"

"That's kind of sad, dude" Petunia added with the head shake of disapproval.

"Automne, I forbid you from dating this woman." Eve said with the furrowing of her brow. "Strippers are promiscuous, and I can't let my friend date some-some… creature of the night." Eve's cheeks burning red as she whipped herself into a soft toned outrage.

"Hey," Offense heavy in Automne's voice. "You haven't even met her, so don't talk bad about her. And who do you think you are telling me who I can, and can't date?"

"I am your best friend, and friends don't let friends date loose- loose… **strip club women**."

"Well, you know what-"

"Both of you, shut up, and go to bed!" Ty ordered at the top of his lungs, clearly under the impression that volume was the answer to whipping his teammates into conformity.

Which they clearly didn't adhere to, for the next line out of anyone's mouth was. "The phrase of the day is 'shut up'." Petunia joked in a comically deep voice, meticulously typing at her laptop as she ridiculed her leader.

Ty simply turned and glared at her, to which she responded by blowing a raspberry and proudly presenting her middle finger.

"Petunia, that still counts as a swear." Eve lectured, brushing off her nightgown as she rose to her feet.

"Carful Petunia," sarcasm slopping from Automne's mouth. "She might forbid you from blowing raspberries."

"Hey!" Eve barked, delivering Automne a betrayed scowl. "I'm trying to-"

"Eve!" Ty roared, crossing his arms. "Go. To. BED."

Eve gave Ty a soft, undoubtedly disingenuous, look of contempt before marching off to her side of the room. She threw the covers open and climbed into her bed, curling up like a pouty echidna. She sat silently fuming for a moment before softly calling out, "We are not done talking about this strange woman, Automne."

"Alright," Automne groaned unenthusiastically, glaring at her back. He paused for a moment and glanced up at the dividing curtain. "Eve, you forgot to close the curtain. Do you want me to-"

"No," Eve snapped. "If you get up you'll tear your stitches and hurt yourself. And if you hurt yourself I'm not going to be able to heal you, because you won't let-"

"I swear to Dust," Ty started, lava oozing from every syllable. "If I hear one more word come from either of you, I am taking the bloody duct tape we pulled off Automne and stuffing down your throats." And just like that the room fell silent, apart from the virtually, but not entirely, silent murmurings of Automne and Eve of course. Ty gave a heavy sigh as his burdensome sick and injured teammates pretended to drift into sleep. "Alright, Petunia?"

"Yep," Petunia listlessly slurred, closing the erotic fanfiction she was writing about her teammates. "What's up boner-killer?"

"Earlier tonight the owner of that strip club attacked us."

"Yeah, you said something about that."

"I think she might be connected to the Phantoms somehow." He explained as he sat down at the foot of his bed. "I was looking around the club and noticed that some of the Phantoms that were hanging out there seemed pretty familiar with some of the girls. I know it's a longshot, but we need to start somewhere. Can you try and find a name for the owner of the place."

"Sure, that stuff's usually public information, so it shouldn't take me more than a few minutes." Petunia smirked as she typed lackadaisically.

The calming, repetitive sound of her fingers pressing upon the keyboard slowly began to break the thick air the team had managed to create. As Petunia drew near to the desired website her eyes flickered up from the screen to watch Ty, who was lost in thought. Her typing slowed to a snail's pace as she watched his expression turn from casual to a full-on brood. "'Ey, what's up?"

Ty didn't take a break from his staring contest with the wall. He gave another sigh and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "He quashed us like we were nothing."

"Arsenic?" Petunia's eyes flowing over to the mangled Automne.

Ty gave a small nod, venomously leering at the wall.

Petunia lifted her fingers away from the keys. She gave Ty an empathetic smile. "Well, you made it out, and all it cost was some of Automne's blood. Don't worry about it, dude, he probably would've lost it somewhere else anyways."

"He could've killed both of us." Ty practically untouched by her words. "Even if you and Eve were there… Once Automne is healed and Eve is better we're going to train every day. Next time we see him, we're not going to have the same problem."

Petunia let loose a small sigh. She returned to typing, her eyes devoted to her screen. "Well, whatever it takes to bring this guy in." Her words devoid of enthusiasm. A glint of selfish hope raced through her mind as she typed the strip club's information into the city directory. "Even if we don't try, we'll still probably become local legends for bringing in one of Vale's most notorious criminals."

"We're not going to bring him in alive." Ty said distantly, his eyes cutting apart the wallpaper. He knew his words were sinking into the blue haired girl as her typing slowed to a stop. "Arsenic has been a blight on this city for too long. Once we find him, you, Automne, and Eve are going to let me kill him."

Ty's words stirred within Petunia's mind for a moment. Blankly she stared at her laptop.

She gave a small chuckle. "Does he have a bounty on his head?"

"… Yeeeup."

Petunia smiled broadly and returned to typing. "If it's not 'Dead or Alive', you owe me."

* * *

**Hey, thanks for reading. I haven't been able to post this frequently in quite awhile and once my winter break ends I'm not sure when I'll be able to do this again. **

**Thank you to everyone who's given this story a chance and thanks for reading. If you haven't already and you feel like doing so favorite, follow and review. I love to hear from y'all and I enjoy sharing my story with you.**

**Until next time, peace out.**

**-CS**


	21. You want to talk about it?

Slowly, the sun began to peek up over the horizon. Its warm amber light cascaded across the campus, driving the night away as it advanced. Soft wisps of evaporation floated off the campus' lush grass as a pack of four students jogged by, one trailing behind the others, simply exhausted. Their breath burst from their mouths in thick clouds as they clattered down one of the schools many pathways.

Automne, trailing a good twenty feet behind the rest, was gasping for air. His lips dry and his body sore from being weighed down by his gear. All he wanted, more than anything at this moment, was to sweetly and passionately embrace his mattress, blankets and all.

"Guys," Automne panted heavily. Trying to focus his vision on Ty and Eve, who were effortlessly leading the pack, he shook his head around wildly to straighten his eyes.

"C'mon, Automne." Ty called from the front, determined to jog the route as if no one had ever done it before. "You got to pick up the pace, man."

"You can do it, Automne." Eve quietly, but cheerfully called to the young man. Without missing a step she spun on her heel, slowed her pace so she could be closer to Automne, and began to jog backwards. As she jogged backwards her ludicrously large weapon bounced passionately on her back in a way that would have made Automne laugh if his lungs weren't on fire. "I know you can do it. You just have to pace yourself." Her vibrant periwinkle eyes shining warmly upon Automne as she jogged in reverse.

"Ty, I hate you." Petunia groaned between heavy breaths. Her skin a sickly green as sweat poured off her in pints.

"What was that?" Ty said sarcastically. "Another mile? Okay, I don't see why not."

"Ty, I- I don't think I can do this anymore." Automne panted, debilitating shock running up his legs with every pounding step.

"Don't give up, Automne." Innocence and sunlight shining off Eve as she delivered Automne a large smile. "I believe in you. Automne. Automne. Automne." She softly cheered.

"Eve… you're not…helping." Automne snapped between gasps, his vision slowly diluting to a blur with each step. "I- I think… I think I'm gonna pass out." Automne wheezed, starting to lose his balance.

Eve gave a concerned frown. She half turned to Ty, still running backwards all the while. "Ty, I think he's going to faint."

"Eve, he's not going to faint." Ty groaned, appalled that Automne had even raised the excuse. "He's just being dramatic."

As Automne persisted after them the rhythmic pounding of his feet finally merged the lovely sunny dawn into a mish-mosh of assorted colors. "Yep," Automne murmured to himself. "Here I go." And that's when he fell flat onto the stone walkway, face first of course.

Eve let out a shocked gasp and ran to his aid. "Ty, Automne fainted." She called out kneeling down beside her stiff teammate.

"Lucky bastard," Petunia scoffed, grabbing onto her knees as she reeled from the dreaded exercise.

"Hey, just because Automne fainted doesn't mean you get a break. Come on, we still got two miles and an eighth to go." Ty called to Petunia. "Eve, you stay here with Automne. Make sure he doesn't die."

"Okay," Eve said quietly, turning to look down at Automne in concern as the other two took off.

* * *

Automne's breath flowed out of his mouth and into his scarf like it were fiberglass. His escrimas raised up in front of his face as Ty held his shuriken out to his side. Tentatively, Automne began to creep to the left, his eyes locked on Ty.

Ty furrowed his brow. He dashed forward, his weapon low at his side.

'_That'll work.'_ Automne thought. Quickly he faded out of sight and began to meander forward, his weapons laxly gripped by his sides.

Ty jolted to a stop and grit his teeth. His eyes rapidly scanned the battlefield, searching for his yellow and black opponent.

Automne walked steadily up to Ty, his escrimas now raised up to his hips. As he began to close the distance, his exhaustion betrayed him, he let loose a breath too loudly.

Ty's pupils shrank to dots as he raised his shuriken up behind his shoulder.

'_Now!'_ Automne ordered internally, lunging forward. Automne buried his left forearm in Ty's elbow preventing his leader from bringing the shuriken down upon him. Capitalizing Automne swiftly smacked his free escrima twice into Ty's side.

The purple and green fabric of Ty's shirt crumpled in on him as he reeled from the strikes. Ty let out a groan and retaliated by jabbing his knee up into Automne's hip.

His breath fading from his lungs Automne jabbed the end of his escrima into Ty's clavicle.

Ty gave a deep growl and bashed his head against Automne's.

Automne staggered back and was immediately slammed in the chest by Ty's spinning shuriken. "Urgh," Automne grunted as he fell onto his rear. With pain surging through his body he quickly rolled backwards and pushed himself back to his feet. He gave the escrima in his right hand a hard jerk and smacked the left against his wrist to lock its sheath around his forearm. With his pistol and ninjato primed he confidently aimed Twilight Harmony at Ty and held Dawn Tranquility at his waist. "Come at me."

Ty gave him a confident smirk. He slowly dusted off his long, dark-green sleeves and ran his forearm across his silvery chest plate before collapsing his shuriken into its sword form. He gave Automne an intense smile. "Petunia, tag out." He blurted.

"Wait what?"

"All the way from downtown!" Petunia shouted as she vaulted over Ty. Holding her shotgun in one hand she shot a single round into Automne's chest, sending him flying back across the training room floor. "It's Petunia Kapelle!" She cheered triumphantly as she landed on her feet. Laughing maniacally she raised her shotgun above her head and started to spin triumphantly.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh," Automne quietly moaned from the ground as he tried to rationalize the pain he went through on a daily basis.

"Automne," Eve called out in concern, tossing aside her weapon as she leapt off the bleachers. She ran up and kneeled down at his side her eyes running over his chest. "Are you alright?"

"Define: 'alright'." Automne moaned as he pulled his scarf away from his mouth.

Distress in her soft eyes Eve quickly clasped her hands together and took a breath. She didn't need to hear another word to justify using her semblance.

"Alright, that was a nice try Automne." Ty praised as he walked past Petunia, who was still gloating to no one, to stand at Automne's heels. "You put in some good effort that time, but you got too cocky at the end. Once Eve heals you up, I want to see you and Petunia go against each other. She's been relying on her barriers too much recently and I want to see you try to get around them."

"No," Eve protested before Automne even had the chance to let out one of his signature groans. "Ty, I am not going to heal Automne just so you can throw him back into a fight. Automne needs time to fully recover, especially after this morning's jogging incident." Sweat dripping down Eve's face as her mist washed over Automne.

"Eve, if we don't push ourselves we're not going to be able to take down Arsenic and his gang." Ty whispered, his eyes shifting over small groups of passing students sharing the gym.

"I won't be able to constantly heal all of you in the field. My semblance draws from my aura and if I lose my aura in a conflict we'll all lose."

A small amount of shock seeped into Automne as he registered the fact that Eve was standing up to Ty. The boy's eyes ricocheted between them for a moment before he decided to give his two cents. "Umm… So, it's just about lunch time. Maybe we coooould take a break? ...Or something."

Eve gave an exhausted, yet content, sigh. A smile crossed her lips as she opened her hands and took a deep breath. "Lunch sounds great."

Ty gave a heavy sigh. "Fine, let's go get lunch."

"Aww, thank Dust, I'm starving!" Petunia cheered, holstering her shotgun and setting her aviators atop her head. "I hope they got some tacoOoOoOos."

'_Lunch, you have saved my life far too many times and for that I commend you.'_ Automne's brain whispered as he pushed himself off the ground. _'Hold up a minute though.'_ Automne paused and looked down at Eve who was still kneeling on the ground, wiping sweat away from her forehead with her handkerchief. "Need some help?" Automne asked, extending his hand to her.

Eve glanced up, surprised. "Oh, thank you." She said with a sweet smile taking Automne's hand so he could pull her to her feet. "You can go on ahead if you want." Eve chimed cheerfully as she dusted off her pants. "I need to grab my books." Glancing over at a large stack of textbooks sitting on some wooden bleachers set against the wall.

"I'll help you carry them."

"Oh," Surprise yet again rising in her voice as they arrived at the formidable stack of paper. "You don't have to. I-"

"Eve, I insist. You've been taking care of me all morning, it's the least I can do." Automne smiled as he took hold of the stack and attempted to lift it, only to receive the expected result. _'I immediately regret being a good person!'_ Automne whimpered internally as his knees buckled and his throat and stomach rapidly clinched up under the heft of the books.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Eve's intuition and eyes instantly picking up on Automne's struggle.

"Eve, don't worry I got this." Automne smiled as he tried to suppress the pain in his arms and back.

'_Dude, you suck at this… Then again, you did just get your ass kicked… and you fainted earlier… and you kind of just suck.'_

"Shut up, brain." Automne hissed under his breath.

"D'you say something?" Eve chimed as she stooped over to pick up her weapon.

"Nope," he lied, bouncing the tower of books in his palms for a better grip. "I didn't say nothin'."

"Yo, wallflowers, pick up the pace!" Petunia hollered from across the gym.

* * *

Eve, Automne, and Ty looked upon Petunia in pure abject horror. Her mouth was like a toothy vacuum, licking and chewing tacos without restraint. Provocative growls rolled from her throat as she slurped the meat from betwixt the tortillas. When she paused for air, the oils slowly trickled off her lips and dripped down onto her chest, staining her clothes.

"I never thought watching someone eat Mexican food could make me feel so dirty." Automne remarked as his eye twitched uncomfortably. _'Also, note to self; look up what Mexican is… I think it's one of those things like American or French… I don't know.'_

"Somehow, I feel like we've managed to reach new lows today." Ty added as Petunia licked and sucked her fingers.

"I still think the lowest we've ever gotten was when Automne purposefully got in trouble in Professor Lazuli's class." Petunia moaned happily, making Automne tense up and turn scarlet.

Eve turned to him, positively curious. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he jacks of to her all the time. Seriously, I walked in on him once and he was polishing it to some pictures he snapped while she was writing on the board." Petunia's smile flourishing like a sunflower as Automne withered like a bright red raisin. "I think he even likes when she assigns him ten page essays; it's his form of S&amp;M."

"Okay," Automne said, fuming. "That's a lie, those essays are bullshit!"

"You still like watching her strut around in those heels though."

"I will not apologize for hormones!" Automne shouted, his finger pointed at her like his ninjato.

"Automne, people are staring." Eve whispered as she looked around. She wasn't wrong, a good number of students had turned to watch the two bicker.

Automne glanced around, his face brightening. "Why don't you just shut up?" He shot at Petunia in a quieter tone.

But, just as he hoped the dust had settled, the rambunctious blue hair gave him a kick in the calf. "Wanker," She mouthed, half closing her hand around an invisible can of spray paint which she shook very generously.

And just like that the eyes of his fellow students, that were digging into him a few moments ago, dissolved into the air as Automne's blood gradually rose to a boil. "Don't kick me in that leg, it's still sore." Venom oozing from his words as a resonating pain rang through and up the limb.

Petunia guffawed briefly before swinging her legs out over the bench and standing. As the eyes of students all around bore into her she unbuckled her capris and pulled them low around her thigh to reveal a jagged scar. "Stab wound from a bad mugging. Don't be complaining about your scars, son, 'cause you ain't got shit on me."

"Petunia," Eve gasped as she looked around at the ever increasing amount of attention they were receiving. "Pull your pants back up. People ar- Automne?"

'_She's taunting you, don't play into it.'_ The logical part of Automne's brain hissed as he stood and pulled his sleeve up past his somewhat thick bicep to reveal a horrid round scar. "Stray bullet on a training exercise." The recesses of Automne's mind aching for something to feed his ego.

Petunia was in no mood to surrender to Automne though. She quickly peeled back the Velcro strap of her right glove with a loud crackle. Tossing aside the garment with a smirk she proudly displayed her hand, bearing both burns and scars on the knuckles that extended up to her wrist. "Burn marks from when I first tried to forge my weapon and it exploded on me." Shameless joy in her voice as the crowd amassing around them let out pained "Ooohs," and little remarks such as, "That had to hurt."

Eve gave a small embarrassed groan as Automne removed his vest. She hugged herself gently and tried to avoid eye contact with the other students. It wasn't much use though for all around her students were cutting into her and her teammates with their judgmental gazes.

"Remember this one?" Sarcasm liberally laden into his voice as he pulled his sweater and shirt up over his lean muscular body. A wide, lopsided circle of a scar sat on his pale shoulder. "Rusted, nine-inch piece of rebar that I got impaled on when we fell through the floor of a building."

To Eve's dismay the crowd gave captivated "Woos", accompanied by a cheer or two from a few young women enjoying the show.

Petunia gave a proud smile as she pulled her jacket off and tossed it over in Eve's direction. Dropping her bandoliers to the floor she pulled up her tank top on one side to reveal a large wide scar stretching down the side of her torso. "Tried to do a new technique and ended up slicing off a good chunk. You could see the ribs and everything."

Automne stared at the large scar, standing out against her smooth, pale skin like graffiti on a marble wall, for a moment before blinking a few times and staring intently at her chest. "Are you wearing a bra?"

Eve bolted to her feet as the crowd loudly laughed in amusement.

Automne pivoted swiftly to see her storm past him, pushing through the surrounding crowd with her head held down, her shimmering black hair swaying behind her. "Crap," Automne muttered to himself, grabbing his vest from the floor and bolting after her as fast as he could.

'_Way to royally screw this one up. What are we going to do next? Set fire to Eve's birthday presents?'_ The intelligent part of Automne's brain scolding him as he burst out of the cafeteria and followed Eve down a footpath.

"Eve, wait!" Automne called out, somber clouds drifting above the two.

Eve came to a stop and turned. "Do you think this is fun for me?" Intense sorrow in her voice as clouds blotted the sky above. Her eyes flooded with tears as she stared at Automne. "Do you think I enjoy watching all of you run head first into battle like-like… like it's a game?"

Automne struggled to look into her eyes. "Eve, we were just-"

"I'm responsible for your life. I'm responsible for all of your lives. And if you die under my care it's my fault, but instead of taking any of this seriously you just-just make trophies out of your scars and expect me to heal you all like it's nothing. What happens when I can't use my semblance to heal you in the field and you get shot? What if you get stabbed again and we can't stop the bleeding? I don't want to watch my friends die in the field because I couldn't do enough." Eve's voice growing weaker as she began to walk backwards, her hands cradling her head.

"Eve-"

"And you know what I don't appreciate you embarrassing me in front of the whole school." Eve's voice growing shaky and weak as she mindlessly paced towards a wooden bench. "When you go up there and parade around with your scars out for everyone to see everyone looks at me and thinks I'm a bad medic. And when they're not talking about my skills they're making fun of us." She gave a loud sniffle, rubbing her gloved hands against her eyes. "What kind of people just parade around with all their scars out for everyone to see… We look like losers." Eve miserably whimpered, sitting herself down on the bench with a small thump. "I thought we were done being losers."

Automne looked upon the dark haired girl, guilt pouring off of him. His throat twitched and vibrated hollowly as he searched for words. The clouds drifting above him created small windows for the sun. Automne approached the bench in silence.

Eve abruptly turned away from the boy as he seated himself on the far side of the bench. Her arms crossed her eyes damp and her spirit clinging to her emotions.

"I didn't realize we were making you feel like this." Automne admitted softly, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands folded between them. "I'll be more cautious in the field, Eve… and I'm-I'm sorry for embarrassing you…"

Eve didn't respond to his apologies. The words sank into her like water to limestone as she stared out into the distance. The air between the two sat placid and still as the clouds parted again, allowing sunlight to pour down upon them like thick, rich, golden syrup.

Automne licked his lips, determination and fear pushing him forward. "Eve I-" An idea surged through the air, electrocuting Automne. A small smile twisted the corner of Automne's mouth. "How about I make you dinner tonight?"

Small ripples shook the air as Automne got down onto his knees. He weakly beamed up at Eve. "I'll make you chicken and waffles, just the way you like it. Just say the word and I'll head straight on over to the kitchen and start right now. A-and if you don't want chicken and waffles I'll make you something else; whatever you want. Anything you want, just say the word."

There was stark silence as Automne stared up at Eve, desperate for some kind of response. Eve turned her head slightly and looked out at Automne from behind her glasses. Her gentle periwinkle eyes filled him with dread as she simply stared at him and said nothing.

Automne gave a sigh and hung his head in shame as he prepared to get to his feet.

"I… I want you to make ice cream too." Eve pouted as she crossed her arms and legs, trying to act demanding.

'_There she is.'_ Automne internally sighed, a smile crossing his face. "You want me to **make** ice cream?" His eyebrow raised.

"Mhmm," Eve hummed with a nod as she tried to keep up her stern façade.

Automne gave a quiet sigh of relief and pulled himself off of his knees. "Well, if that's the case, then dinner and dessert may take a while. So, I better go grab everything and start now."

"Alright..." Eve said softly as she uncrossed her arms, her act of seriousness fading away slightly as Automne eagerly rushed to meet her demands. "... Wait," Eve called out as Automne took a few steps down the path.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see Eve eagerly watching him, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly. "Yes?"

"C-can I come with you?" Eve asked quietly as she pinched at her gloves. "I-I like to watch you cook."

A warm smile spread across Automne's lips as he walked back over to the bench and extended his hand to the dark-haired girl. Eve's cheeks turned a soft pink as she placed her hand into Automne's and allowed him to help her off the bench.

"I'm still upset with you." Eve said with her best attempt at being indignant as she swiped her hand away and made off in the direction of the dorms.

"Of course you are." Automne said with a large smirk as he followed after Eve.

* * *

Automne let out a heavy sigh as he poured thick batter into the waffle-maker. The kitchen lights serenely shining down upon him and the messy kitchen counter. "And that, Eve, is why you're not allowed to make the mix-tape if there's a zombie apocalypse."

Eve puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms decisively. "Say what you want, but disco will make a comeback."

"Disco is dead, Eve."

"Disco will never die." Eve said confidently from her chair overlooking Automne.

"Seems pretty dead to me." Automne muttered to himself as he set the dial on the waffle-maker and pulled a plate from a box labeled 'Automne's Kitchen Things'. "Let's move on, I've got another one for ya'. Would you rather: take a bath with 30 eels, or live in a house with a clown for-"

"Don't say clown!" Eve shrieked, hugging herself tightly.

'_I guess that answers that?'_ Automne's brain quipped as he leaned back against the counter. "I take it you don't like clowns?"

"No," Eve moaned, shaking her head wildly. "They're horrible and weird and mean and creepy and they don't respect my personal space and-"

"Alright, alright I got it, clowns are a no-no." Automne noted as he wiped his hands off on his sleeves, staining them with a thick mixture of ingredients. "So, next question," Automne said simply as he picked up a pair of metal tongs. "You doing all right?"

Eve's horror vanished as she looked down at the linoleum. Playfully she began to swing her heels back-and-forth, her toes pressed against the ground . "I'm feeling better." A modest smile spreading her lips as she stared down at her shoes.

"You still mad at me?" More than a small amount of fear noticeable in Automne's question.

Eve gave a small giggle before making another valiant attempt at being aloof. "That all depends on how the food is."

"Well then," Automne chirped cheerfully as he pulled a couple of chicken thighs from his own personal deep fryer. "I guess it's time to find out if I sink or swim." He gently laid them out on the plate as the waffle maker gave a loud ding. Balancing the plate in one hand he quickly threw open the lid to the device and pulled two crisp, golden waffles from it. He took a few moments to properly arrange the dish before delivering Eve the plate with a grandiose flourish. "Bon appétit." Automne said with a smile, pulling a fork and knife from his pocket and handing them to Eve.

"Thank you, Automne." Eve beamed. She wasted no time in cutting into the food and shoveling a forkful into her mouth. "Mmmmm," Eve moaned quietly, chills running from her mouth and through her entire body.

"I can clearly tell you hate it." Automne said with a smirk.

"It's amazing." Sheer ecstasy rolling off Eve's tongue as she stared at her food passionately.

Automne stared on happily, watching Eve eat, until, "Oh flip flop rabbits, I forgot the syrup and whipped cream." Automne exclaimed as though he had committed some inexcusably horrid act. "Here," He said, extending his hand. "Let me fix it."

Eve flinched as she saw him advance towards the plate. She wanted to smack his arm away in protest for daring to take her heavenly food. Her desire to do so vanished however as the thought of eating chicken and waffles with syrup and whipped cream made her taste buds swell with joy. So she ultimately relinquished her plate without a fuss.

"Thank you." Automne said with a small jolly smile as he carried of her plate.

She stared at him for a moment. A small frown emerging upon her face. "Umm, Automne."

"Yes'm" He replied, pulling open the fridge.

"I," Eve softly cleared her throat, the sweet taste of the food still clinging to her taste buds. "I wanted to say… I accept your apology."

Automne gave a loud chuckle as he peeled the syrup bottle off of his hand. He glanced back at her from over his shoulder, his smile wider than ever. "You fret too much, but I guess I accept your apology acceptance, if that's what you want to hear." Smiling happily he turned back to the food and properly applied the finishing touches.

"Hey, Automne."

"Yep?"

"I've been meaning to ask you, what's your secret?" Eve's feet swaying back and forth under her chair as she folded her hands in her lap.

Automne cocked an eyebrow as he applied the whipped cream. "Secret, what secret?"

"How do you make your food taste so good?" Innocent curiosity overflowing from Eve's voice.

A relieved smile crossed his lips. "Oh, hehe that secret. It's nothing special, it's not even really a secret." Automne took Eve's plate in one hand and the bottle of syrup in his fingertips. He turned and started to make his way back across the kitchen towards Eve. "I just take some cinnamon, a little bit of vanilla, maybe a little cocoa if I'm completely out of ideas, but the one thing that you always got to put in every dish," Automne gingerly placed Eve's plate down in front of her, a large heart of whipped cream spread out across the food "is plenty of love."

Eve stared down at the plate, trembling slightly "Au-au-Automne, I'm flattered b-b-but I-"

"Love for cooking, Eve." Automne said flatly, placing the syrup down in front of her. "For the love of Dust, now you're just jumping to conclusions. Honestly, you can be so self-centered sometimes." Automne crossed his arms and walked back towards the fridge.

"Wait- No- I didn't mean-"

"No, no, no I get it, you just like the thought of me flirting with you." Automne made certain to put extra emphasis on the word flirting as he pulled the freezer open and took out a small bowl.

"But- No- It- I just thought." After a few more stammered vowels Eve let out a heavy sigh and picked up the bottle of syrup. She took the bottle in both hands and began to pour the thick substance all across the plate. Smothering Automne's whip cream heart and the chicken and waffles as she childishly pouted.

"Eve, you got to know when to take a chill pill." Automne mocked with a broad grin as he walked back over with a mocha colored bowl in hand, a single spoon protruding out the top. "Also, your ice cream's ready. I figured you'd want it now." He said as he pulled a chair over to the end of the table to sit beside her.

"Alright," Eve sighed. "It is getting late and- oh no." Eve gasped as she attempted to set the bottle of syrup down, only to quickly realize it was stuck to her gloves. "Oh no oh no oh no oh noooo." She whined as she began to wildly shake the bottle. "Automne, help me!" Eve whimpered hanging her arms in the air helplessly.

Automne gave a loud chortle as he stared at Eve, internally laughing his ass off. "Hold on, hold on, let me get a picture for Ty and Petunia."

"What? No! Automne!"

"Uggh, Alright, fine." Automne groaned before leaning over and taking hold of Eve's wrists. Slowly, he began to peel back the soft fabric of Eve's gloves as she relentlessly fidgeted.

Eve let out a moan in discomfort as the ends of her gloves slipped off and her pale, smooth hands were left exposed. She quickly pocketed her hands into her jacket with a small whimper.

Automne rolled his eyes. "Oh, calm down, you big baby, I'll wash your gloves as soon as I can. Now, come on and eat your ice cream. It's going to start melting."

"I-I," Eve weakly stared down at her pocketed hands and gave a sigh. "I can't."

Automne gave a small sigh and took the spoon in his hand. "Alright then," Plunging the spoon into a round gob of ice cream he took a nice spoonful and lifted it over towards Eve's mouth. "Open."

Eve blushed brightly. "Automne I-"

"I didn't work for over an hour to make you ice cream and just have it melt. Now, open." Automne said impatiently, an almost insulted look in his eye.

Eve paused to stare at the spoon for a few moments. Her small periwinkle eyes jittering on the creamy delights sitting in the spoon. Slowly, she opened her mouth.

Automne gently floated the spoon forward into her mouth. He held the thin metal handle loosely in his fingers as her lips closed around it. He patiently waited for Eve to suck and lick the spoon clean before he pulled it away, her lips still clinging to the metal as he did so. "Do you like it?"

Eve, still slightly shocked from being spoon-fed, shook her head contently and gave him a warm smile. "Yes, it's delicious."

A devious grin parted Automne's lips. "Good, because I lied earlier. The real secret ingredient is semen."

Eve lurched back violently and began spitting onto the floor and scraping at her tongue as Automne burst out laughing.

"You're sick!" Eve shouted, jumping forward to shove and pound on Automne's chest.

The only thing that was hurting him right now, however, was the fact that he was suffocating from laughing too hard. "You should have seen the look on your face!" His howls of laughter echoing throughout the kitchen.

* * *

**Warning: Don't put semen in people's food. Or do, I'm not a doctor... Or a chef... Either way, it's weird.**

**-CS**


	22. You can't break a promise

The sunlight of late noon fell gently upon the Emerald Forest. A cool, mid-autumn breeze rustled the thick branches, sending leaves cascading down to the forest floor below. And the lush, vibrant green forest was filled with the echoes of Petunia's screams of agony.

"Fucking hell!" The blue haired girl exclaimed, her legs trapped under a thick, fallen tree.

"Petunia," Controlled panic prevalent in Eve's voice as she ran to her pinned partner. She hastily thrust her naginata into the dirt beside the tree and pulled her med kit off her belt. "I'm going to need you to stay calm." Eve urged as she kneeled down beside Petunia, unzipping her kit.

"Calm?! What are you talking about I'm the fucking embodiment of the word calm! Don't I look calm to you?!" Petunia shouted in a tone that someone could've mistaken for sarcasm.

"Stop cursing, I'm just trying to help." Eve whined as she removed her jacket and rolled it into a ball. She carefully lifted Petunia's head and set the jacket beneath. "Now, can you feel your legs?"

"If excruciating pain is a feeling, then yeah!"

"Hey, um Eve-" _**pop pop**_. "-I, uh, don't want to rush you or anything-" _**pop pop pop**_. "-but could you speed up your process." Automne asked politely between gunshots as a small pack of Beowolves ducked in and out of the tree line before him.

"Automne, I have to treat her for shock." Eve stressed softly as she tried to coax Petunia into laying back.

"Sure, yeah. Take your time." Automne said quietly as he took aim at a large Beowolf and unleashed a hail of bullets. The beast howled in pain as it was struck, by the majority of the bullets, in its shoulder and thrice along its side. A proud smirk sprouted behind his scarf as the monster retreated into the brush, fatally wounded. "How you doing over there Ty?"

"It's a trap, man!" Ty shrieked between gasps as he waited for the next wave of beasts to resurge. The bodies of nearly a dozen felled Beowolves laid at his feet on his own side of the downed tree.

Automne gave a small snicker as he shot a few rounds into another Beowolf. "It happens, man."

"Oh Dust, I can see the light!" Petunia screamed from under the tree. "Ohhhh, I was too bitchin' for this world!" her hands dramatically waving through the air as she moaned. "I was like a super nova, or whatever the hell they're called; I burned too bright for all y'all!"

"Petunia, please stop, you're not going to die." Eve practically begged as she tried to tend to the girl.

"Yeah, amputation is always an option." Automne smarmily joked, popping off a few more rounds.

"I could have no lower half and I'd still get more puss than you!" Petunia ruthlessly retorted as she tried to pull her shotgun out from beneath her round, wooden prison.

"I hope you die under that tree!"

"Automne!" Eve snapped.

"What?!" The head of a Beowolf, that is to say the majority of the head, spackling across a tree as Automne looked back at Eve, feigning innocence. "She started it."

"No, I didn't, you limp necked chicken-nugget fondler!"

"Both of you, shut up or I will cut the legs off the both of you!" Ty demanded as he slashed through another pair of Beowolves.

"I'd sooner believe Automne could get laid!" Petunia yelled, the fact that she was still being crushed beneath a tree somehow escaping her.

"I will shoot you!" Automne warned, unloading the remainder of his magazine into a Beowolf and a rather sinister looking tree.

"Automne, stop fighting with Petunia or I won't help you write that essay for Professor Lazuli." Eve ordered with a disappointed frown.

Automne gave an infuriated growl. _'Don't need your help anyways. I know all there is to know about that stupid sleep root powder crap.'_ He grumbled internally as he shoved his empty mag into his pocket and pulled a fresh one from his vest. _'Know so much about those stupid roots I'm practically a botanist… or whatever the hell one of those guys are called.'_

"That's right, you better be quiet!" Petunia gloated, the pain of having a full grown tree lie on your lower body not so gradually creeping back into her.

"Petunia, shush." Eve said impatiently as she pressed her hand down on Petunia's waist. A pained scream promptly followed.

"Wish I had that job." Automne muttered, another wave of Beowolves emerging from deep within the forest. "Ty, we got more comin'!" Automne called out, draining the top half of his magazine into the advancing beasts.

"Guillotine wall, coming your way!" He quickly turned, raised his shuriken, and hurled it through the air, past Automne. Tugging at the shuriken's nearly invisible string he activated its spinning blades sending it hurtling through a tree as it picked up speed. Ty gave another tug to the string to send flaming dust flying from its ports, setting the brush ablaze and razing trees as it sliced its way through the forest.

Automne gave a slight chuckle as some of the Beowolves ran full force into the fire, igniting themselves. As the shuriken laid out a wall of fire that none of the remaining Beowolves dared cross Automne let his shoulders droop, a relaxed smile quickly crossed his lips. _'Now, all we have to do is wait for-'_

An unsettling chill ran up Automne's spine.

The orange and yellow flames of Ty's fire wall began to twist and bend oddly as a short black-and-white figure moved behind it.

Automne squinted hard, his yellow goggles fixated on an odd section of fire which danced and turned ominously. As Automne tightened his grip on his pistol the flames parted slightly allowing a heavily armored Boarbatusk to come barreling through. _'Crap!'_ Automne shrieked internally. Raising his gun he fired upon the beast, only to watch the rounds ricochet off.

As soon as the gun's slide flew back and gave a loud click, Automne threw his arm out to one side, sending the empty magazine flying out of the gun. His fingers darted to his vest, ripped a pocket open and pulled out another magazine as he brought his gun forward. His heart beat against him relentlessly as the beast charged, a thick cloud of dirt hanging in the Boarbatusk's wake. With moments to spare Automne slammed the magazine into his gun, pulled back the slide, and opened fire.

Disappointment immediately overcame him however as measly, nonlethal paint rounds hit the beast like breadcrumbs… wet breadcrumbs.

Automne glared at his gun. "Shit!" He remarked right before the Boarbatusk curled into a ball, dashed forward, rolled up a small rock as if it were a ramp, and slammed into him, smashing his arms against his chest. However, as the monster barreled into him, Automne's aura reflexively shifted into his chest. So, as the aura broke the force of the impact sent him flying upwards through the tree line and into the sky.

As the wind battered against him Automne swore he could almost hear Eve screaming his name. He wasn't actually all that certain though, his mind was a bit torn on account of the excruciating pain which was rolling through his body in shockwaves. He tightly shuttered his eyes to the cerulean sky above and fastened his grip around his weapons as the pain devoured him.

Cold seconds passed as the wind whipped over his body. The air ruthlessly pounded against his skull as he crashed through the ceiling of the forest. Loud cracks rang in Automne's ears as he broke and fractured every branch he struck on his way to the forest floor.

Landing solidly on his back, the pain surged through Automne in slow bursts. An almost compulsory groan of pain slowly parted his lips as he curled and writhed in anguish. Tears began to cloud his vision as he rolled onto his side. Agony coursed through his body as his muscles screamed out in pain. He gave a gasp and held back his tears. Pangs of pain resonated though him like a terrible song, pounding against his bones as he struggled onto his hands and knees.

"Ahh," He moaned weakly, his voice cracking as the noise left him. Disheartening pain coursed through him, binding him in place. The boy stared down at the forest floor, what remained of his aura surging around his body like ice water, numbing pain for moments only to give way to acidic air.

He drew in a breath. His scarf clung to his sweat covered mouth as the fresh air burned his lungs. He let go of his weapons and wriggled his fingers tentatively. He whimpered slightly as fire burned his left hand and wrist. He released his breath in shaky pants.

His body trembling tears began to flow to him again.

There was a loud rustle in the brush before him. Automne looked up at the dark green forest surrounding him. Fear blistered his mind as the brush in front of him began to twist and snap. He swiftly rose and fell backwards onto his rear as a Beowolf jumped from the brush and snarled at him.

Automne's eyes darted to his weapons, lying on the ground in front of him, out of arm's reach.

The monster let out a roar and charged.

'_No!'_ Automne screamed internally, raising his arms to cover his face.

**Bang!**

The sound of the gunshot rang through the forest for a moment before silence fell.

Breathing heavily Automne peered out from behind his arms. The Beowolf that had just attempted to charge him was now missing the majority of its head. Its body, still standing erect, listlessly swayed back and forth.

**Bang!**

The second round, landing squarely upon the monster's chest, sent the beast flying back.

Automne stared at what remained of the monster's corpse for a few moments. Black wisps rising from the body like smoke as it started to deteriorate. Automne hastily turned to look up at his savior, Sienaerde.

"Rise," She ordered, her eyes and her rifle pointed at the dead Beowolf.

Automne's lips molded themselves into a scowl as he turned forward. His body ached and jittered as he crawled forward and scooped up both of his weapons in his right hand. He looked back over his shoulder at Sienaerde, her sharp brown eyes were still scanning the forest for threats. Automne let out a shaky, pained sigh and forced himself onto his feet. "How did you find me?"

"My team and I were performing a simulation about a half mile from here." She hesitantly began to lower her rifle upon confirming that they were alone. "I saw you burst through the canopy and determined that you needed assistance… Are you injured?" Her eyes fixed on his left hand.

"I'm fine." Automne snapped dismissively, pocketing his ninjato. "Doesn't your team need you?"

Sienaerde gave the young man a scowl as she strung her rifle over her back. "My teammates follow their orders to the letter; they will not fail in my absence. Now, let me have a look at your hand." Her stern voice holding an unquestionably genial air.

Automne stopped and looked the girl up and down. His scowl softened to a bitter frown behind his scarf as he gave a resigned sigh. He silently stepped over to Sienaerde and held his forearm and hand out to her.

She gently took hold of his arm beneath the elbow. Carefully she began to remove his glove, occasionally glancing up at his face. "Those who practice common decency generally thank their protectors for saving their lives, or has that practice fallen out of use?"

"Considering most protectors don't constantly kick the crap out of their rescuee, I think an exception can be made here." Automne griped as he dropped the magazine from his pistol and used the grip of the gun to pull down his scarf.

"You fault me for being a competent opponent, but a battle goes far beyond the physical confrontation alone. One is not simply beaten by another; they allow themselves to be beaten, Noire." Sienaerde snapped, abruptly yanking of his glove.

A million needles shot through Automne's hand and up his arm, causing him to lurch forward, screaming in pain. His hand ripped from Sienaerde's clutches, he cradled it against his stomach as he shuffled across the forest floor, overwhelmed.

Sienaerde rushed to his side as he gritted his teeth and tried to shelter his hand from the very air that surrounded it. "Let me see it, let me see." Sienaerde urged, her voice calm as she attempted to unfurl the boy. Gradually, he began to straighten and reveal to her his swollen, red and purple hand. From the middle finger to the little one all looked awkwardly bent.

Sienaerde gave a soft sigh. "It looks like you've managed to break this entire side of your hand." She quickly swiped the pistol from his other hand, the one which he didn't manage to break, and ejected the remaining round from the chamber. "There's nothing I can do to help; you'll need to return to Howlite." She ran her hand across the pouches on his vest until she found one containing a magazine. "I need to maintain appearances, so I won't be accompanying you. Stick to the light, conserve ammunition, and try to repress your emotions." She hastily shoved the magazine into his pistol and cocked the weapon. She made to hand him the gun, but instead came to a pause. She stared at Automne, a grave look sitting in her eyes.

Its intensity wavered as Sienaerde and Automne's eyes danced together, sharing something unspoken. She looked between the gun and him once more before extending it. "Don't die, Noire. We're here for a reason, and you've already come so far… And if that doesn't motivate you, think of it this way: dying at this point only stands to prove everything I've said about you to be correct."

Automne stared back at Sienaerde, every syllable giving him renewed energy. He stoutly took his pistol back and swept his scarf up over his mouth. "Thank you," A small sincere smile sprouting behind his scarf as he turned and jogged back into the forest.

Sienaerde continued to stare at Automne even after he became obscured behind brush. She gave a small sigh and ran her hand across her chocolate colored hair before pulling her rifle off her back. She rolled her neck, and took one deep breath before sprinting off into the forest, rifle in hand.

* * *

"1, 2, 3, Lift!"

"Aahhhhhhh!" Petunia wailed as Ty and Eve lifted the downed tree and threw it off of her.

"Alright, Petunia's safe, now go find Automne." Eve said to Ty as she pulled her naginata from the ground, dirt and dust crumbling off the blade as she outstretched it. She squatted slightly over Petunia, her weapon at the ready and her gentle eyes diligently scanning the environment.

"Since I'm the one who gives orders on this team I'll go when I give myself the order."

"Ty!" Eve protested.

"Hey! ….. Okay, I'll go." He said, unenthusiastically sauntering off into the forest.

As Eve began to puff out her cheeks and internally chastise her leader Petunia let out quiet moans of anguish.

"Eve," The downed teammate grumbled, lightly tugging at her pant leg. "Eve,"

"What's wrong Petunia?" Eve asked as she kneeled down beside her, leaning slightly on her weapon for support.

"Eve, before I die-"

"Petunia, you're not going to-"

"Shut up, we're having a moment." Petunia said with casual bitterness. "Eve," she grumbled in an utterly pitiful, but clearly fake, tone. "Eve, let me cop a feel." She mumbled, adding an extra cough for dramatic effect.

"Petunia, NO!"

"C'mon, just let me play with them a little." She tried to reason still using her morbid tone. "I'm not asking you to let me lick 'em or anything."

"Petunia!"

"C'mon, they're not even that big... On second thought, let me grab your ass instead. You have a really nice ass."

Eve then, appropriately, responded by slapping Petunia across the face, her own cheeks a bright, offended crimson.

"Ah- what the hell?! You're not supposed to smack a patient!"

"You're a dirty, h-horrible pervert!" Eve shrieked as she tried to cover her already clothed breasts and rear.

"Oh come on, it's basically a compliment!"

"You are such a horrible person!" Eve cried out, her body violated by Petunia's words.

"Hey guys," Ty said casually as he walked back into the clearing with a juice-box in hand. "What's up?"

"Ty, why aren't you looking for Automne?!" Outrage and confusion overtaking Eve.

"Ty, Eve hit me!" Petunia childishly moaned, pointing up at her aggressor's face.

"Eve, did you hit her?" Ty chided.

"What, but she- Ty, go find Automne!"

"I already did; he's right behind me."

The three of them turned in unison to stare at the forest.

Ty stared on blankly for a roughly a minute before taking a loud sip from his juice-box. He paused again, stared for another minute, and took another sip. "… Huh… I told him to follow me, so that's on him."

"Ty!"

"Hey, I'm not responsible for keeping him alive, that's your job."

"Mistuh gov'ment man, she dun hit me across my face and I ain't seen no justice yet!" Petunia dramatically hollered from the floor. "Oh damn this insta-tution and its prej'dices!"

"She wanted to sexually assault me!" Eve screamed in defense as Petunia tried to turn the court system of Ty against her.

"Now Eve, you know the court system never sides with people who make allegations like those." Ty scolded, shaking his head in disappointment.

"What?!" Eve yelped, practically on the verge of tears.

"Hey!" A tired voice barked from the forest behind Ty. The quiet rustling of leaves being crushed crackled through the air as an exhausted Automne emerged from the forest. He panted heavily as he approached the three, drenched in sweat with his swollen left hand held against his stomach while the other dangled tiredly by his side.

"Oh, there he is." An almost surprised Ty mumbled as Automne lethargically approached.

"Why did you leave me?" Automne hissed at Ty.

"I told you to follow."

"I am injured…"

"Doesn't mean you can't follow." A very matter-of-fact smile resting on Ty's face as he took another sip from his juice-box.

Automne didn't immediately give him a verbal response. He took a few moments to picture chopping Ty's head off and burning his body before he replied with a simple: "I hate you."

"'You wanna blow me?' Whoa man, I don't swing that way."

"Hey, weren't we supposed to be doing something?" Petunia chimed in, a lost look in her eyes.

"Team Taupe, your exam time has expired. Please leave the Emerald Forest immediately." A woman ordered over a megaphone.

Petunia laid on the ground with a half shocked, half bored expression slathered across her face. "Oh yeah… that."

* * *

"So, basically we failed, Tracy." Automne sadly admitted to the school nurse as she finished putting his hand into a cast.

"Well, kid, you can't win 'em all." She replied disinterestedly before giving him a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Tracy." Automne grumbled as he internally tallied his wins and losses. Unfortunately, it was so one-sided his head actually started to tilt to the side.

"So, where's Eve today?" The nurse asked as she grabbed a clipboard and started to write something down.

Automne stopped depressing himself with hard numbers for a moment so he could address another depressing subject: academics. "She's busy with an essay right now. She's been having to write a lot of them lately and after failing her test this morning she wants to focus on her work."

"Hmm, I'll bet she does... Alright," the second part chimed loudly as she placed the clipboard in Automne's right hand. "Given your normal healing rate, I speculated your hand should be completely healed in a week, but if Eve gives you regular treatment you should be fixed in about three to four days. Sign there and come see me when your hand feels less broken."

"Thank you, Tracy." Automne said with a slight mope as he laid the clipboard across his cast and scribbled his name onto the release form. "I'll see you in a few days." Automne returned the clipboard and calmly made his way out of the infirmary, his moccasins lightly pattering against the floor as he went.

Automne gave a tired sigh, his clothes chafing against his sore skin as he sulked down an abandoned, sparsely lit corridor. He held out his plain white cast and looked over it with disdain. His eyes scanned the drab plaster, loathing the material and all the stares it would bring. In fact, his eyes were so consumed with the activity of hating his eyesore of a cast that they forgot to watch for obstacles in the world around him. Obstacles such as Professor Baula whom Automne walked directly into.

"Auguu!" Automne exclaimed in shock. "Ge-Professor Baula, I'm so sorry, sir!" He pleaded as he gave the man a low bow.

The Professor gave a light chuckle and smiled down at the boy. "It's alright Mr. Noire, you seem rightfully distracted." The Professor said with a curious glance aimed at his hand.

Automne stared at the cast, mortified. "Oh- yes, I… I had an accident during an exam this morning." He explained as he tried to hide the cast behind his back.

"I can see that." His interest clearly piqued. "How did it happen?"

"I-uh, I was attacked by a Boarbatusk and it-it launched me into the air, and when I fell it was broken."

The Professor gave a small concerned frown as he folded his hands behind himself, his worn trench coat lightly crinkling as he did. "That's quite a shame. I hope you recover quickly. Things have been quite demanding as of late and you'll definitely need both your hands if you're going to pull your own weight."

"Don't worry about me, Professor Baula. The nurse said my hand should be fully recovered in a few days." Automne said hastily, pointing back towards the infirmary with his thumb.

A slightly relieved smile dawned on the Professor. "That's very good to hear." He nodded his head a couple times and raised a hand to his face. Gently, he stroked his black stubble as his eyes wandered off. He drew in a large breath and let out a sigh. "I really wish I could watch more matches and simulations. It gets tiring reading essays all day and night. One of the many inhibitions of being a Professor I suppose... Mr. Noire, how did your team do in this last- what was it, an Emergency Rescue Exam?"

"Umm, yes Professor, that was it and," Automne paused for a minute to swallow in shame. "We, uh, we didn't do very well."

Baula gave another small sigh. "That really is unfortunate to hear." He went silent for a moment before giving another sigh. "You really could learn something by watching your fellow students, Mr. Noire."

"I've learned a lot from the other students Professor. And especially my teammates, we're always improving, sir." Automne insisted, lightly squeezing at his cast.

"Well," Baula's tone lost somewhere between upbeat and disappointed. "I'm glad to hear that." The Professor began to shift forward as if he were ready to walk away, but his eyes lingered upon Automne. Baula stared into him, his expression becoming glum as his examination of the boy deepened. "Hmmm… Why is it that you seem so dampened?"

Automne perked up in shock, "What, I'm not-"

"Your teammates depend upon you, Mr. Noire." A reassuring calmness emanating from his pleasantly coarse voice, his honey colored eyes sparkling. "Whether you feel it, or not, you have become a vital member of their lives. They trust you… Mr. Noire, you are playing an important role here, so fret not."

Automne cleared his throat as Baula's words gently wrapped themselves around him. "Th-thank you, Professor."

A grin parted the man's lips. "You make it seem like my words are some large courtesy. I'm just making an observation." He gave a short chuckle. "I hope you manage to put whatever knowledge you've accrued to good use, Mr. Noire. You may be needing it soon." He pocketed his hands into his pants and began to walk away, his trench coat gently swaying behind him. "Oh! I'd almost forgotten." Baula chimed absentmindedly with a small chuckle. "I really trail off on tangents far too often. Mr. Noire, I was looking over your most recent essay and it seems you forgot to cite a couple of your sources, so, I'm considering it plagiarism and marking it as a zero."

Automne physically recoiled at the news. "What?!"

"But considering the fact that you're a good student, I'm willing to offer you a make-up essay which will be worth half the points. Also, I'm willing to abstain from telling Professor Ozpin of your plagiarism on the condition that you spend a lump of time with me in detention." The Professor looked off into the distance stewing on just how much he could consider a lump. "Let's say… eight to nine p.m. for the next two weeks. Meet me at my office tomorrow evening and expect to be put to use... also, expect to have some company." Baula finished with a small, satisfied smile and a wave before walking off towards the infirmary, leaving a flabbergasted Automne in his wake.

"Aw, dang it." Automne muttered to himself bitterly once he was certain Baula had stepped out of earshot.

* * *

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhh," Automne groaned as he pushed open the door to his room, marched straight over to his bed, and fell face first into his pillow.

"You seem happy." Ty remarked, contently chewing on a grapefruit as he relaxed on his bed.

"There is no escape from the madness of the world." Automne overdramatically grumbled into his pillow as he futilely attempted to merge with his blankets.

"It's good to know we have our emo back. What'd the nurse say about your hand?"

Automne rolled over onto his side, entirely unenthused to continue the conversation. "She said it'd take a few days to heal up." Raising his cast up for Ty to see.

"Nice going, man." Ty mildly shook his head as he took another bite from the grapefruit. "You need to learn to focus your aura or you're going to get people killed." Ty's voice lashing against Automne's weary mind as he pointed his grapefruit at him.

"I got hit by a Boarbatusk; my aura was focused on my chest." Automne snapped in defense.

"That's your fault. You need to pull your shit together." Ty's eyes listlessly returning to his snack as Automne silently dug into him.

A loud clap rang through the room as Automne twisted his lips in preparation for a slap-dash comeback. Petunia, the source of the applause, was laughing giddily at their sad excuse of a command center. Her laptop, sitting before her, was darkened with massive columns of text.

"I cracked another one!" She exclaimed, changing windows so she could triumphantly mark down her newest victory over the Phantom Clan's sealed files.

"Awesome," Ty said casually. With no sense of hurry he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sauntered to the station to look over Petunia's shoulder. "What'd you crack this time?"

"Hang on a sec, I just opened it." Petunia rebuked as her eyes flitted across the screen, taking in the wealth of words. "It looks liiiike… Conversation records."

Ty started to brush the corners of his mouth whilst he glared intensely at the text. "Are they similar to the last ones you found?"

"I think so." Petunia leaned back in her chair to look up at Ty, her smile a bit more serious now. "Remember that theory I was talking about a couple days ago?"

"You had a couple, jog my memory."

"It was the one about the chick from The Oasis. I think she's been having her girls listen in on conversations and record them."

"It sounds like a decent idea, but I'm still not sure what she would gain from it." Ty said with a small frown, the screen still holding his eyes. "A few days ago, I asked a guy I know who works in Vice to look into the owner of The Oasis, but he said they already looked into it before and the place wasn't doing anything illegal. So, unless they're listening in on random guys, it doesn't make sense."

"I don't know." An adamant confidence simmering in Petunia's voice. "I was checking public records and the name of the person who owns The Oasis popped up on about twenty other properties across the city on everythin' from warehouses to penthouses. Last time I checked strip clubs don't make people real-estate tycoons."

Ty gave a heavy sigh, scratching his chin lightly. "You said that name was a fake right?"

"Hella fake. Really had to dig before I realized I was lookin' for a ghost."

Automne gave a heavy groan from across the room, attracting his teammate's attention like moths to an annoying flame.

Petunia rolled her eyes at her battered teammate. "What?"

"Oh," feigned surprise heavy in Automne's voice. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm just lettin' out air since my hand is in pieces and I have a headache the size of a turkey."

"Dust damn it, do you ever stop whining?" Petunia griped as she turned back to her laptop. "Why don't you go find Eve and have her do'er mist thing and stop bitching about it already?"

Irritated knives darted to the forefront of Automne's mind and prepped themselves to fly from his lips in a jumbled half-baked insult, but a question at the back of his mind stayed his attack and left him muddled. "What d'you mean 'go find Eve'?"

"I mean, _go find her_." Each word accentuated with ire as she turned to glower at him. "She ran off a little while ago without saying anything."

Automne, painfully, arched his eyebrow, befuddlement surmounting the majority of his pain. He pushed himself up in his bed and swung his legs off the side. "What do you mean _'she ran off'_? Eve's got an exam tomorrow, she doesn't _'run off'_ in the middle of her study time."

"Well, she did." Ty added with a stern glare. "I came in earlier, handed her some mail, and a few minutes later she bolted out of here. She didn't say anything, so we both tried texting and calling her, but she never replied."

Automne looked between the two, disbelief plastered across his face. "I don't believe you."

Ty rolled his eyes and turned back towards the laptop. "Fine, like we care." Ty said with a dismissive wave. "Go see for yourself if you want, all her stuff's still on her bed."

Automne scowled at the two and defiantly stood up. He sharply turned and made his way across the room, past the dividing curtain and over to Eve's cluttered bed.

And just like Ty had said, Eve was gone, but her study materials remained. Her bed was covered in notebooks, open textbooks and papers with long sprawling diagrams that dangled off the side. All across her bed-spread laid a number of unsettlingly eerie objects; an uncapped pen, three-by-five cards that weren't in a neat stack, a study guide that was only ninety percent complete, and a torn open envelope that ominously sat at the center of it all.

'_This is… unusual.'_ Automne's puzzled mind whispered as he slowly edged his way up to the bed. He diligently scanned over her belongings while his good hand rifled through his pocket. His stomach starting to churn anxiously as he pulled out his Scroll and flicked it on.

A confused frown on his face he texted Eve: "Hey, where are you? Thought you were gonna study tonight :/" He gave the send button a firm press and let out a sigh.

He looked over the bed once again, this time focusing his hazel eyes upon the most irregular item from the bunch: the empty envelope. In a single, smooth motion Automne reached out and plucked the envelope from the bed. The dry white paper delicately scraped between his fingertips as he continued his impersonation of an expert detective by scanning over it with more zeal.

His examination, however, did nothing to assuage the now severe stress that stewed in his stomach. If anything it only became more intense as the address on the front of the envelope left Automne with the uncanny feeling that he was supposed to know the numbers.

His nerves calmed slightly as his Scroll vibrated energetically in his good hand. Automne hastily returned Eve's envelope back to where he found it before turning to his Scroll.

It was just a few words.

"Automne," the message read, "can you come to the roof".

A cocktail of emotions appeared and began to swirl wildly in Automne's mind. Tints of happiness were overwhelmed by fear, and the fear in turn was squashed by the comfort of her response. Curiosity dominated all others though, so much so that he had already started making his way to the door before he decided he need not reply.

"I'll be back in a while." He called out to his other teammates, shutting the door behind him and setting off down the hallway.

'_Something feels… off.'_ His mind buzzed as he hastily strode down the hallway and entered the stairwell. _'She may just not be feeling well… But that wouldn't explain why she didn't respond to Ty or Petunia… Maybe she just needed to get away from her homework for a while… No, that's not like her…'_

And then a thought was tossed forward from the much more pessimistic side of his mind.

'_She could be mad at me.'_ Automne in the middle of bouncing up the stairs slowed down. _'We did kind of fail that exam because of me. And she did genuinely seem upset with me earlier… She's probably going to go off on me once I get up there.'_

The soft reverberation of Automne's footsteps ceased as he came to a stop. Empty, he stared at the towering stairs as the thought coursed through his body. It weakened his legs and made time slow. _'She's always so serious about her exams and I just made her fail a big one. If I made her just pick up and walk out on her assignments I could've really upset her… She may even be mad enough to end our friendship. She probably thinks I hold her back and she'd be better off without me…' _

Automne gave a heavy sigh and tried to get a rise out of any other emotions he had in him._ 'I'm being irrational.' _He weakly lifted his leg to the next step.

'_Eve gets mad, but she'd never be mad enough to get rid of me.'_ He reasoned with himself as he tried to force a smile that didn't want to cooperate. _'I'm psyching myself out over nothing. She probably just locked herself on the roof or something. Who knows, maybe she did just get stressed from working and she wants me to come join her for some star gazing.'_

His excuses and explanations failing to convince him of anything as he stepped onto the last flight of stairs and set his eyes on the entrance to the roof.

And just like that, rational thought hastily vacated his mind so emotions could fight their pointless fight and internally batter him from within.

The soft pattering of his feet on the concrete steps numbly struck his ears; his lips and mouth dried like cotton; and his stomach twisted and lurched fearfully. As he approached the door to the roof his mind began to fervently offer suggestions. '_We should to hang back for a few minutes. She could still be upset, if we stay here a bit longer she'll have plenty of time to calm down.'_

He stepped up to the flat of the final floor and came to a stop, the door standing a couple feet in front of him.

He nervously licked his lips. The frightened voices began to beg him to turn around or seat himself at the door for a few minutes to wait out the storm that they were certain sat on the other side. Their screams of how he wasn't prepared began to blend, note by note, into a strange unintelligible cacophony of panic. He felt as though he were going to start hyperventilating when, out of the blue, logic gracefully stepped forward to guide him.

'_It's just Eve.'_

Automne reached out and took hold of the doorknob. He drew in a deep breath.

'_I know Eve.'_

He slowly exhaled and let his shoulders slacken.

'_She called me up here for a reason. Let's see why.'_

Automne pushed forward on the door.

All the voices silently slipped away, then there was stillness, at least for a few fleeting moments.

The brisk autumn air nipped at Automne as he stepped out onto the rooftop. He stopped for a moment to stare in silence.

The sky above him was glowing, the inky black and purple void was speckled with the dazzling glints of the stars which flickered like candles in the shadow of the silver moon. His eyes never met the sky though, they sat locked upon the lightly shivering black haired girl sitting on the edge of the rooftop.

Fear and nervousness chewed at him as he awkwardly stood there, staring. He waited for nearly a minute for her to turn and acknowledge him, but she didn't. She just sat there with her back towards him, she herself looking off into the distance.

'_She knows I'm here. There's no way she didn't hear me… does she want me to go sit with her?'_

The seconds began to crawl by.

Automne bit into his dry lip nervously. His anxieties slowly began to cook him from within. They sat in him like red coals, broiling his innards as they sat and simmered. It didn't take long for it to become excruciating.

With a suppressed shallow breath he took a step forward, the rest followed instinctively. Step by step he approached, his stomach churning unpleasantly with every move.

He swallowed hard as he silently walked up to the edge and sat down beside Eve. He didn't look directly at her at first, something about the air told him not to. He instead stared down at the ground below. And that's what he did, he stared off into dimness; fear nipping at him and telling him to remain quiet as the thick, cool air rested heavily upon his shoulders. And he probably would have continued to stare silently into nothing if Eve had not given a miserable sniffle.

Curious, he turned slightly to glance at her from the corner of his eye.

Her normally pale face was red and splotchy; her cheeks stained by the trails of her tears which calmly dripped from her vibrant white eyes.

Guilt poured over Automne, he felt as though he had no right to look at her right now, not in this state. But he couldn't ignore her. His spirit weakened at the very sight of her tears; he ached to right whatever was wrong.

He lifted his legs back to the roof and turned to face her. "Eve, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Her lips jittered and shook as if she were going to say something. Unfortunately, all she could muster was a pitiful gasp. She quickly covered her mouth and tried to steady her breathing.

"Eve," Automne said, concern overwhelming his body. "If this is about the exam, I'm sorry. I screwed up a-"

"No," Eve croaked shaking her head as she tried to wipe her tears away. "I-it's not that. It- I- it's-" She gave a small gasp and looked down as she cradled her face in her hand. She shook her head again, pulled a slightly crumpled piece of paper from her pocket, and held it out for Automne.

With almost no hesitation he took the paper with his good hand. Illuminated by starlight he could make out every wrinkle and tear-stain upon the page. Barely legible hand written text was scrawled across the paper. Straining his eyes slightly Automne began to read.

'_Dear Eve, I am sorry that I can't tell you this in person, but I haven't the heart. __Eve, I'm so sor . . . __Eve, your mother and I are getting a divorce. We've already tried therapy and we've both done all that we could, but __our lo . . .__ the spark isn't there anymore. Your mother will be taking the house and I'll be moving into an apartment across town. __This doesn't have . . .__ Eve, we both love you, and if you're having a hard time with this we can all meet-'_

The letter continued, but Automne didn't need to read anymore. He gently lowered the letter and glanced up at Eve. He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't know your parents were having troubles."

"Neither did I." Faint bitterness in Eve's voice as she pulled her legs up from over the edge and hugged them tightly.

Automne fell speechless.

He was clueless. He didn't have the faintest idea of what to say to her. He tried to moisten his lips and think of something to say that might comfort her, but it was painful.

Eve squeezed her thighs tightly as she weakly drew in air. "It's all my fault." She whimpered.

Automne swiftly turned back to her. "What?"

"This is all my fault." Eve's whole body began to tremble as tears flooded her eyes. She clung tightly to herself as she began to gasp. "I-It's my fault I shouldn't have left home." Tears began to flow down across her face. "Before I left they were just as happy as always. They weren't fighting they were still in love. If I stayed they- they-"

Automne placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to turn her toward him. "Eve, look at me." Automne said as he tried to lock his eyes with hers.

Eve tried to choke back her worsening sobs, her eyes blinking rapidly to push the tears away.

"Eve, this is **not **your fault." Fear heavy in his voice as he tried to dispel the poisonous idea from Eve.

Eve began to shake her head violently. "No! It's all my fault! We were all still happy! We went to soccer games and we went out on weekdays! They were still in love!" Pain in every syllable she shouted as tears poured from her eyes. "It's my fault for coming here! Nothing good has happened ever since I decided to come to this stupid academy! Beacon has ruined my life! I hate it here!" Her cheeks burned pink and mucus dripped from her nose as she pushed Automne off of her.

"Don't say that." Automne pleaded, trying to keep a positive tone. "You're the one who always says things like 'look for silver-linings' and 'stay positive'. Look at all the good that's happened ever since you came here. You're learning to be a huntress, you're-you're doing things you've never done before, and you've made a few friends. Remember when we met, you said you'd never really had any friends and now you have three great friends."

"I didn't want to make friends just so I could watch them get killed trying to-to- save the world!" Eve ran her sleeve across her face while Automne stared on, his optimism deteriorating. "I've had so much fun with you, and Petunia, and Ty and now you three are dragging me along on some stupid **suicide mission**,and I know we're not prepared for this and I don't want to die and I don't want to watch you die either." Tears quickly began to pour back into Eve's eyes as her energy died and she crumbled into the fetal position.

Automne listened to Eve's harsh sobs with teary eyes. Again, seconds stretched on as Automne tried to think of a way to comfort her. What felt like an hour had passed before he gave a sigh and swallowed whatever doubt and fear remained in his voice.

"Eve, look at me." He paused for a moment, but she didn't respond. "Eve, please look at me… please." Automne begged as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

Painful, miserable moments trickled by, but Eve's sobbing slowed and she uncurled herself to look at Automne with fierce misery.

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he met her white eyes. He slowly slid his good hand from her shoulder and held out his casted hand, palm up. "Eve… give me your hand." Her eyes harshened with curiosity, only to be softened when he said: "Please." Tentatively she placed her hand in the palm of his cast and said nothing as he lightly sheltered it with his other hand.

Automne stared intently at her thin, dainty hand covered by his own swollen hand. He took a deep breath and slid his fingers into the palm of her hand. "Eve, I promise you, I will not let anything happen to you, or Ty, or Petunia."

"You can't keep that promise." Eve snapped, ready to withdraw her hand.

"I **will** keep this promise." Automne said, compassionately squeezing her hand. "Eve, I will not let anything happen to you… I promise."

Eve let silent seconds pass them by before she gave Automne's fingers a gentle squeeze. "What about you? You didn't include yourself." She murmured, locking her eyes with his.

His eyes shook nervously, the corners sparkling slightly. Automne pulled his eyes away from Eve's and looked down at their hands. He lightly rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand and forced a smirk. "Well, I always come out a little worse for wear." Automne joked as he pulled his cast away from her hand and held it up for comedic effect.

Eve gave a grim frown. "Automne-"

"Eve," A soft sorrow hidden in her name as he gently squeezed her hand. Automne returned his eyes to Eve's and paused. "… Please…"

Eve held his gaze for a short while before retracting her hand and laying it on her thigh. She turned away from Automne and looked out across the campus.

Automne slowly followed suit.

Silence hung between the two as they looked out at the dim campus before them.

"Do you want to go back inside?" Automne whispered.

Eve gave a quiet, depressed sigh and shook her head. "No… I want to stay out here a bit longer."

Automne gave a sigh and laid back on the roof. He rested his cast upon his stomach and gazed up at the stars with sad eyes. "The stars are beautiful tonight."

Eve gently laid back and scanned the night sky with her moon-like eyes. "Yeah, they are." Her voice solemn as she held her hand close to her heart, trying to mimic the way Automne squeezed it.

* * *

Rouge glared out at the city of Vale from behind the rim of her wine glass. The soft audio recording of a viola floated through the room as she looked out upon the cityscape. "What do you think? Would that be a good place for a monument? I was thinking something made from marble, maybe… twenty feet tall."

Arsenic, sitting across the table from her gave an offended snort. "If you get a statue, then I get a statue." His demand emphasized as he pointed his glass of wine at her.

"Yes, yes, of course. I just hope you'll be comfortable posing in the nude." She made to sip her wine, but her colleague's astonished face drew her back. "Well, we wouldn't want it to clash with mine." She had already begun to mentally prepare for his imminent retort when the Scroll in her lap vibrated.

Without a moment's hesitation she lifted the device to her ear. "High General," she chimed cordially.

"Team Taupe has become an impediment to the operation. Expect 'Contingency: Whiteout' to commence at any point within the next twelve days. All operatives are expected to be prepared for 'Contingency: Whiteout' at any given moment. 'Contingency: Whiteout' will commence upon my orders. How copy?"

"Understood, High General." Rouge responded with a devilish smile. "I'll celebrate with a smoke." She said as she raised her glass to Arsenic.

"Copy that, standby for further advisory." The scrambled voice on the phone ordered before ending the call.

"What did he say?" Arsenic asked, swirling the wine in his glass.

"'Contingency: Whiteout' is to commence within the next twelve days." Rouge giggled, a hot smile bending her lips.

"Who's the target?"

"Team Taupe,"

A grin crossed Arsenic's lips as he extended his glass for a toast. Chuckling he said: "It's about damn time."

Rouge extended her own and their glasses met with a soul-piercing clink. "I almost feel bad for them."

"They brought it upon themselves." Arsenic's head shaking as he contemplated chugging the rest of his wine in celebration. "They should've minded their own damn business. I only wish I could do the job myself."

Rouge gave a haughty smirk as she turned back out towards the city. "I did say 'almost'. You could never truly expect me to feel sorry for obnoxious, children who prance about like they're heroes. They'll get what's coming to them soon enough. Now, as I was saying I figured we could place our monuments where those houses are."

"I think that's an orphanage." Arsenic added reluctantly.

Rouge gave a giggle. "Even better."

Arsenic shook his head. "That's deplorable." A small smile on his lips as he set his glass of wine on the edge of the table, only to have it fall to the floor and shatter.

"You ape!" Rouge snapped, "That was crystal imported from Mistral."

"Sorry about that."

Rouge gave a sigh and looked back out at the city.

* * *

**Sorry that this one took me so long. College has been thrashing me and this one needed a few rewrites, but I'm just glad I got this out for all of you.**

**I hope you enjoyed and if you're this far in and haven't decided to favorite and follow please do so. Leave a review if ya' want, all criticism helps and I just enjoy hearing from you folks.**

**Stay tuned, because you're not gonna want to miss what comes next. Until next time, peace out.**

**-CS**


	23. I guess it's just one of those days

With the delicate jingling of glass breaking upon the floor, leaves being carried upon a light, warm breeze, gently floated past Eve. Yellow, brown, green, and red in color they twisted and turned through the air. Their dry, fragile bodies flipping and crackling as they glided past Eve and into an amber colored corridor. Her mouth hung agape in awe as the wind lightly tugged at her hair, guiding her along through the corridor.

The rhythmic patter of her footsteps echoed loudly off the thick stone walls as she strolled on down the endless amber corridor. Brushing against her on updrafts and downdrafts, the leaves left faint marks upon her which were instantly washed away by the wind. Then, appearing from nowhere, something amongst the cloud of leaves caught her eye. Gradually Eve's pace hastened as her white eyes locked themselves upon a single black leaf flying carefree amongst its brethren.

A wonderful fascination filled Eve to her brim as the black leaf danced seductively before her. Twirling and spinning, over, under, between and behind the shroud of leaves the black leaf beckoned her to the front of the pack. The corners of Eve's mouth lifted into an amused smile as she watched the playful leaf dance.

It wasn't long before her walking quickened to jogging, and then to running as she tried to catch the black leaf. Her dark hair whipping spiritedly behind her as the walls of the corridor began to melt away in a myriad of color until only the path beneath her remained. Eve let out a truly gleeful giggle as the leaves around her danced in the air wildly.

Smiling and laughing without restraint Eve passionately chased the black leaf, its drab exterior crumbling in the wind as it began to flap its wings. She looked on in wonder as a brilliant, black butterfly emerged and set sail through the air. Its large delicate wings shedding silver scales with each flap, quickly bringing life to the hundreds of leaves surrounding her.

Leaving behind drab exteriors the butterflies emerged in the hundreds, shedding silver scales of their own. These scales, the small specks that they were, shimmered like stardust in the wind. Eve's smile grew to its limit as the scales washed over her, transforming her pale skin into a dazzling canvas while her dark hair became the night sky. Soon her feet barely touched the pathway, they merely skittered across its surface for brief moments as she sprinted after the black butterfly.

As she grew closer the clouds of red, yellow, green and brown butterflies began to break away, leaving the black butterfly to soar on its own. But as the others departed Eve never relented. Her breath passing heavily from her dry mouth, she swallowed air, and pushed off the ground hard. Her smile glittered upon her face as her feet separated from the ground and, like a comet, she glided towards the butterfly.

The pathway, a discarded construct of stone, began to crumble out from beneath the two as Eve extended her arms towards the butterfly. And as the void slowly closed between Eve's open hands and the butterfly, the insect forfeited, and let Eve cage it within her fingers.

She drifted for a moment. Her hair sparkling like the cosmos and her smile shining warmly through the universe. Weightless she drifted onto her back and opened her fingers.

The butterfly sat still between her palms, dead.

Eve's smile vanished.

As gravity returned and Eve began to fall backwards into an endless void, the butterfly gently floated up, out of her reach.

Eve held out her hand to the butterfly. "Please… No…"

Eve began to stir restlessly in her bed, sleep abandoning her as her internal clock shook her awake. Her shuttered eyes gently twitched as the cold air licked at her exposed face. Twisting gently beneath her soft, warm sheets she let out a tired moan. Back and forth she rolled under her blankets until she willed herself into a seated position. Moaning gently she raised her gloved hands to her eyes and lightly rubbed them until a painful scraping forced her to stop.

She gave a light groan. _'I should've taken my contacts out last night.'_ Internally scolding herself as she began to wrench her eyelids open. She let out a soft, pained moan as the morning sun, crawling through the curtain's cracks, burned her bloodshot eyes. Glancing around her dorm, Eve fluttered her eyes to rid the world of its unnatural blurriness.

As her eyes widened and her senses slowly joined her in the act of waking up, Eve scooted her way up towards the head of the bed. Once she was comfortably seated, with her hips pressed against her pillows and her blankets comfortably held up against her chest a pleasant: "Mornin'," rang out from Petunia, sitting in her own bed typing at her laptop.

Eve looked over to her partner and gave her a cheerful, if not groggy; "Good morning, Petunia."

"Sleep well?" The blue haired girl replied, lifting a silver and blue can up off the floor. She stopped typing for a brief moment so she could take a swig from the can labeled 'Taurus Testosterone' and glance over Eve with her baggy eyes.

"Mhmm," Eve hummed, raising her arms high above her for a long, soothing stretch. Lowering her arms with a rejuvenated sigh Eve ran her hands over her tangled mess of inky black hair. "I had a weird dream last night. Do you want to hear it?" The faint images of leaves and butterflies still swirling through her head.

"Maybe later, I'm workin' on one of the files right now." Petunia replied. "This new file is like a Dust-damn vault."

Eve's content demeanor slowly began to fade as she sullenly pulled her glasses from a pouch near her bed. With a small sigh she smoothly swung her legs out from under her blankets, turning away from Petunia, and slid her glasses on. "So, you can't get into it?"

"Who said that?" Petunia's smirk more than audible.

"Well, I suppose I shouldn't bother you then."

Petunia's typing slowed as she glanced over to examine the suddenly saddened girl. Her eyes hanging on her seriously. "Hey, ya alright?"

"I'm fine." Eve replied quietly, her mind drowning her issues as she slid into her slippers.

"Have you tried calling your mom or dad lately?" Petunia's genial inquiry noticeably damaging Eve. "Automne was sayin' you haven't talked to them since you found out about the divorce."

"I've been busy." Eve partially lied. Over the past week Eve had had more than ample amount of time to write up a letter or give her parents a call, but whenever the idea popped into her mind she'd quickly remember something else she had been meaning to do. There was always something else to do, and with that one less thing to worry about.

Eve stared through the floor blankly, incessant worries prodding her mind. "What time is it?" She asked abruptly, standing and walking over to the closet to pull out her casual attire.

Petunia gave a soft sigh. "It's about eight."

Eve's eyelids jumped in surprise. She quickly pivoted to look back at her friend in shock, worry abandoning her. "You let me sleep in?!"

"Ty thought that after finals we could all use a break, so we get to sleep in for a few days."

"Oh," Eve whispered in genuine surprise. She looked back at her closet and stared at it intensely for a minute before turning to her dresser and back to the closet. Pursing her lips she continued to mull over a dilemma in her head before deciding to vocalize it. "Petunia, what do you think? I was going to head down to the gym to do yoga before it got too crowded, but if it's already eight I think I should probably go get breakfast."

"You can probably still go to the gym, it's probably not too crowded yet." Petunia suggested with a shrug.

"I know, but I wanted to take a shower afterwards, because I don't want to smell sweaty at breakfast. And when I go to the gym around this time to do yoga it always feels like people are staring at me." Eve complained, the memories of unwanted stares upon her body haunting her mind.

"Mmm," Petunia grunted through a mouthful of energy drink which she hastily swallowed. "Take it as a compliment. They're probably just enjoying the nice, flexible, tight-pantsed view." Her eyes running up and down Eve's thick nightgown, picturing the lean pale body beneath in her mind.

This of course not only prompted Eve to blush, but to cover her already clothed body as well. "Petunia, stop it." She snapped, her arms held tightly over her chest and crotch.

"If you want you can just practice your yoga in here. I can even help out if you want." A lusty smirk cutting apart Eve's plain nightgown.

'_She always takes this too far.'_ Eve chided internally as she pulled her jacket, slacks, and gray dress shirt from the closet. _'This is why we never go shopping anymore.'_

"No thank you, Petunia. I think I'll just have Automne accompany me to the gym. Less people stare when I'm with him." Eve said in a gentle, yet bitter, rejection. With an entirely unnoticeable head shake of disappointment she made her way back over to her mess of a bed and laid out her clothes for the day.

"Eh," The perverted hacker's response slightly muffled by her mouthful of liquid sugar. "Whatever floats your goat, he's probably already down at breakfast though. He took off a while ago without saying anything."

Eve stopped preparing her clothes to be absolutely stupefied at the idea that Automne could willingly get up before eight in the morning. "I thought you said we were allowed to sleep in today."

"Yeah, but Automne took off early today. I think he took off around six and hasn't been back since."

And that's when Eve went to absolute disbelief. "He got up at six? Where did he say he was going?"

"I dunno. I was tryna break into these files. I didn't ask and he didn't say anything." Petunia replied with an almost disinterested shrug.

'_Why would Automne just take off at six in the morning without saying anything?'_ Eve's brain questioned as she tried to busy herself with her clothes. _'This is weird… ever since he got his cast off he's been slipping out more often.'_

Eve stopped internally floundering about with unanswered questions and instead decided to walk across the room to one of their shared desks, where her Scroll sat calmly. She swiftly picked up the device and set about typing up a text message that read; "Good morning Automne"

And then she set about waiting, her mind buzzing anxiously.

Eve's footsteps lightly echoed off the drab, gray corridor walls as she walked down to breakfast. Although mid-terms had wrapped up the day before Eve would never have considered the campus to be almost entirely devoid of life. There wasn't a single other student in sight, which made it possible for Eve to stare down at her Scroll and walk absent-mindedly without the worry of bumping into anybody.

Her eyes had been stuck to the screen for nearly a half-hour, and she had not received a single reply from Automne. It had gotten so bad that she had even decided to send three follow-up texts without his reply. As a result she wallowed in shame as she stared down at her string of four text messages.

"Good morning Automne." The messages read across her mind.

"Where are you? :/"

"Would you mind helping me with something?"

"Automne?"

A light, visceral hum vibrated Eve's lips as she stared down at the device with sad eyes. How annoying she must appear to him to have texted four times in the span of thirty minutes. She loathed herself for her lack of restraint. When her brain wasn't busy flogging her for her impatience it was droning on with theory upon theory of why Automne wasn't replying.

'_Maybe he's busy…Maybe he hurt himself… Maybe he's dead.'_ Eve's brain stalled for a second as one of the more rational ideas worked its way to the forefront of her mind. _'Or he could've just locked himself on the roof and fallen asleep… again.'_ Eve shook her head a bit as she continued to shuffle down the desolate hallway. _'We really need to bring a door stop up there. It's just not funny anymore.'_

Eve's mind quickly set aside the concerns of rooftop trappings though as she had more pressing matters to tend to. The main one being her misplaced best friend, who was doing a very lousy job at keeping up to date with his text messages.

Eve gave a small frustrated huff as yet another pot of stew rotated its way to the front burners of her mind. _'That's another thing, when he texts me, I get right back to him, but he always makes me wait… most of the time I have to wait… sometimes… he doesn't make me wait all that often, but that doesn't excuse the times when he do-_'

A familiar chill ran through Eve as she came to an intersection in the halls.

She hastily turned to glance up another plain looking corridor, her skin crawling beneath her clothes.

'_It feels like… Automne is around here.'_ Calmly Eve stepped forward, her eyes scanning the environment around her cautiously. Chills surged up and down her body as she walked. The sound of her footsteps ringing loudly throughout the hall as her eyes crawled across closed doors lining the walls.

Suddenly, the cold chills became less random and instead pressed against her skin like an icy draft as she approached a single wooden door, the door to a broom closet.

"Automne?" She said aloud extending her hand and taking hold of the door knob. With a twist the latch retracted with a small metallic clunk and Eve pushed the door open, whereupon she was assaulted.

Whether it be the simultaneously humid yet chilling air, the gentle, visceral sound of lips sucking and smacking against each other, or the sight of Automne standing before her with arms wrapped around a brown haired girl, the abrupt assault upon her senses left Eve dazed.

It was graphic; the very way she twisted and arced her body as Automne's hands ran up her back and down over her rear wantonly. Her hands, meanwhile, clinging tightly to Automne's scarf which she used to pull him in closer to her.

Eve stared on, bewildered by what she was watching. It cut into her, the sound of their mouths rapturously sloshing together. It seemed to drag on and on without end; each sound and sight scathing Eve in indescribable ways.

A sign of grace presented itself to Eve though, for as the girl in Automne's embrace turned her head she glared out at Eve. Through squinted eyes she stared out at Eve, holding herself in Automne's embrace for a few moments longer before she pulled back and took a deep breath. "Howlite, your timing is truly impeccable." Sarcasm dryly falling from Sienaerde's mouth as Automne retracted his hands from around the brunette and took a step back.

"Eve!" Automne gasped, turning to face his dumbstruck friend. "This is- uh- I kno- wha- I can explain."

"I'll leave you to that then." Sienaerde said dryly as she released Automne and set about buttoning up and straightening her jacket. "After I leave, please wait a few minutes before going on your way." She politely ordered before leaning in towards Automne and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Casually, she made her way to the closet doorway where Eve stood, staring. Sienaerde began to edge past Eve, but half-way through the act, stopped and leaned in towards her. "Automne tells me you value your personal space. I'd like it to remain that way." She whispered before pushing past and walking down the hall.

It was all rather still for a moment as Eve stood in the doorway her mind falling into entropy as it tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed. Unfortunately, she wasn't given much time to process the varying degrees of trauma as Automne was experiencing his own form of panic. While Eve stood there, her face twitching in confusion, Automne speed-walked over and took hold of her forearm.

He pulled her towards the center of the closet and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving them in near darkness. "Eve, I-I'm sorry that you found out this way, I swear I was going to tell you."

Eve snapped out of her confusion. Furrowing her brow she glared into Automne's silhouette. "You were going to tell me?!" Eve repeated with a trembling fury. "How long has this been going on?"

"It's just- It hasn't been long. We've just been testing things for about a week-"

"A week?!" Eve's hands balled into fists. "And you think that's long enough to start making-out with crazy girls in closets?"

"She is not crazy." Automne sternly stressed, his silhouette huffing out towards hers.

"She's been terrorizing us for months."

"I know- But I've been talking to her and she's actually really sweet and if-"

"Sweet?" Offense charring Eve's words. "If she's so sweet then why doesn't she want to be seen with you?"

"Eve that's not it." Automne's panic dripping into a hopeless plea. "We just want to make sure we're serious about things before we come out about it."

"It looked pretty serious to me." Eve snapped, crossing her arms as her hidden expression became sorrowful.

"Eve, it's-"

"No, I don't want to hear it." Eve unfurling her arms to wave him away. "I thought you trusted me."

"Eve, I-"

"And I thought… I thought you wouldn't hide things like-like **this** from me!" Anger and misery shaking her voice as she threw her arms through the thick air. Once her outburst was over she took a step back and stared at Automne's silhouette, her arms hugging her tightly. Standing before her in a slouch his silhouette filled her with a rage that made her eyes run over with tears. "Well?!" She shouted, trying to stifle her sniffling.

"Eve," his voice still filled with the same annoying sadness which he had no right to. "I'm sorry, I should've-"

Eve could take no more of this. Before Automne had the chance to finish she stormed past him and threw open the door. Blinded by the bright morning light she stormed off down the hall.

"Eve, wait!" Automne's words echoing off the walls.

* * *

Eve's bloodshot eyes hastily scrolled across the lines of her favorite book, taking in none of it. Occasionally she would try and focus upon what she was "reading", but it only took seconds before her mind would fall back into a fruitless internal debate.

'_Automne's a jerk. How could he hide this from me?!'_ Eve fumed internally. _'Of all the things he's done… Why wouldn't he even tell me about her? I mean, it's not even about the fact that he's with __**her**__,__but he didn't even let me know… I would've been okay with it, despite the fact that she's a horrible, vindictive, rude, mean-spirited person who doesn't deserve anyone half as nice, and funny, and sweet, and charming as him.' _

A light tear of paper interrupted the perpetual silence around Eve.

Snapping back to reality she looked down at her book which she realized she was gripping far too hard. As a result a number of the pages within had been partially ripped from the binding. Eve gave a disappointed sigh and set her book down on the table before her. She crossed her arms and slouched back in her chair, her eyes staring through the plain wooden table.

'_Did I overreact?'_ Eve's hands tightening around her upper arms. _'He should have told me about… __**this**__, sooner, but was I too… harsh?' _Eve squinted hard at her book, her tensed legs curling beneath the chair. _'He seemed sorry… And he would have told me eventually… but __**this**__,__how could he hide __**this**__?'_ She gave a small miserable sigh and crossed her ankles. _'I don't think he trusts me.'_

The idea resounded through Eve's head, raising dozens of contradicting examples. The recollections of long, pleasant conversations where they would go on for hours upon hours without even thinking about stopping made her want to dismiss the idea entirely. And even though most of it seemed so trivial there were just so many moments that went beyond everything else. The memories of where he would tell her things she couldn't imagine him telling anyone else stood out to her like giant pillars. The pillars however left long shadows that filled Eve with dread as they shifted over her, for how many similar conversations could he have had with Sienaerde? How often had they laid near each other upon a rooftop, divulging their fears, secrets, and insecurities under the light of the moon?

The thought now occurred, in the form of a dark pit, that Automne could have told Sienaerde secrets which he never thought of sharing with Eve.

Eve's grip upon her arms tightened until it was painful, but just then, something ripped her attention away from her new, horrible thought.

Eve's Scroll, vibrating in her pocket, sent unpleasant tremors up her thigh and through her core.

Slowly, the dread slipped in as Eve looked down at her pocket. Her mind began to dig vast trench-ways, theories of who was texting her and what they were saying etched into the muddy walls. She made to reach into her pocket, but a thought took hold of her arm and stayed her hand.

'_It could just be Automne.'_

Eve retracted her hand and held it tightly against her waist as she stared at her pocket. Her eyes jittering slightly atop the misshapen fabric. She internally quarreled over her next move.

'_Don't look at it, he's just going to make excuses.'_

'_Maybe, he wants to apologize again.'_

'_He always apologizes. Who knows if he really means any of it?'_

'_Maybe… maybe he has something to say.'_

'_Maybe… but I don't want to talk to him right now.'_

Trembling slightly, Eve gently pinched the hem of her jacket between her fingers as she internally warred over a text she hadn't yet read.

'_I can't ignore it.'_ A solitary, purely bipartisan thought said as Eve's eyes flicked over toward her pocket. _'It could be important.'_

Before a single contrarian thought had the chance to arise and sway her Eve calmly darted her hand to her pocket and withdrew her Scroll. She set the screen to life with a light tap and leered down at the messenger's ID. Her gaze quickly softened, and even turned to a cool, confused stare as she and her Scroll failed to recognize the person texting her.

'_Who is this?'_ Eve thought as she stared at the update of a new message from a number that she didn't even faintly recognize. Curious, she unlocked the phone and opened the new message.

"Is this Eve Howlite?" The message read in that unsettling, mysterious way that all anonymous messages are read.

Calmly, Eve typed her reply. "Yes, who is this?"

There was only a short wait before the messenger replied. "This is Sienaerde Tänzerin."

Eve stared at the text; her eyes bulging slightly from their sockets, her hands trembling beneath the weight of her Scroll, and her lungs struggling to catch the proper amount of air. It was all brought on in that kind of deer-in-the-headlights-esque reaction. And if Eve were being honest with herself, she couldn't tell what the most alarming thing about this was. All she knew for certain was that Sienaerde, the same Sienaerde who had been lustily and sloppily rubbing herself against Automne a few hours ago, was texting her.

One thing Eve was quick to learn though, that Sienaerde was quite prompt with her. So, before Eve could finish stooling over this new occurrence Sienaerde had already responded.

"Howlite, I'd like to apologize for what happened earlier." Eve's imagination filling in Sienaerde's voice as her eyes slowly scrolled over the paragraphs of text. "I'm not apologizing for the incident as a whole, rather my indecent behavior upon seeing you enter the room. I was acting upon a compulsion, and it was inappropriate. I'd also like to apologize for the passing comment I made on my way out.

"Automne speaks of you quite often, and as much as I loathe myself for stooping to that level, in a manner I saw you as a threat. I have been speaking with Automne though, and I have seen the fault in my logic. By no means did I intend, or do I wish to drive a wedge between you two." Eve's Scroll vibrated gently as a new string of texts followed.

"As for the event as a whole, I take full responsibility for what happened. I was the one who asked Automne to conceal our relationship, for the time being. I know the private nature of our relationship may appear selfish, but I was only truly doing it for his benefit. I do not care for gossip and I earnestly do not care for maintaining my social image, I was however concerned about Automne. Your teammates have never been too fond of either me, or him, so I felt it would be best to conceal our relationship until we felt confident enough to reveal ourselves. Automne genuinely trusts you, and he stressed to me on a number of occasions of how he felt guilty about hiding our relationship from you. If you feel frustrated about any of this, please, direct it at me because this is my fault."

Eve softly exhaled, her mind quieting as she read the last part of the message. "I don't know how much merit to hold to Automne's words, but he constantly says you and I would make good friends. After today's unpleasantness I'd understand if you said no, but I'd like to take you out for coffee, perhaps some time this week? Automne talks about you so often, I'm eager to see what's true and what's an exaggeration."

Eve leaned back in her chair and rested her Scroll against the table.

She sat there in silence, the scentless dry air stirring with every breath as she stared past her Scroll and into Sienaerde.

With a few hundred words Sienaerde had once again staggered Eve and left her in an emotional daze. What made the second time worse though was that Eve had reached some form of a conclusion.

She gave a soft sigh and raised her Scroll. She typed up a short message for Sienaerde, accepting her offer to meet for coffee and thanking her for the clarification. She pushed send and gave a heavy sigh.

Her body simultaneously slackened and tensed as she opened up a separate conversation. Unanswered texts lined the left side of her screen.

Her hands twitched awkwardly as she prepared to type a reply, her frightened thumbs floating a centimeter from the surface of the screen.

She took a deep breath and held back air as she tentatively set about typing. Her mind humming painfully as she searched for the right words.

Typing, and deleting. Typing and deleting. The process repeated ceaselessly until she had crafted a sentence she didn't hate.

She pressed send and cast the message out to the wind like a brown, dead leaf.

"Automne, can we talk?"

* * *

A cold breeze made Eve shiver as she sat on a plain, stone bench beneath a large oak tree. Tremors flowed through her as the time of her meeting with Automne ever so gradually approached. With a small frown on her lips she sat in silence, rubbing at creases on her clothes, and occasionally picking up and tearing apart dead leaves as her mind peacefully tore itself apart.

Originally, she thought this would be an excellent spot to talk to Automne: A simple, picturesque garden with a large, beautiful oak tree, tucked away off the beaten path. Eve probably wouldn't have even known about this place if it weren't for Automne. Fondly, she began to reminisce of how he had dragged her out of a class to spend the afternoon dozing in the shade of the tree. The memories of him telling her to snap pictures of what was an ideal, serene scene still echoed through her mind.

These memories did little to comfort her as the evening sun fell below the top of the surrounding hedges. For the past half-hour, fading sunlight had seeped through the thick branches above to form intricate, ornate shadows in the garden, but as twilight approached the garden was left almost entirely in darkness.

'_It feels so… secluded now.'_ Eve thought to herself, eyes poring over the still garden as she pushed around dead leaves with her foot. It was unsettling how eerie the garden had become, how cold and unwelcoming it was under the guise of darkness. Suddenly, Eve's discomfort fluctuated strangely as a light rustling broke the perpetual silence that came with the night.

She silently lowered her gaze to the grass. _'Try and keep a straight face. Don't make this about you.'_ She took a soft breath and raised her eyes to the garden's entrance where Automne had just entered.

He stopped and stared at her from a distance. His dirty blonde hair lightly shining beneath the pale moonlight as he stood there nervously. With a somber, guilty expression he said, "Hey, Eve."

Eve twisted her lips into a miniscule smile. "Hi, Automne." She replied softly, his name pleasantly rolling from her mouth. Just by looking at him she could tell he was ready to go into some big lamentation, she could just tell. With a tiny sweet smile Eve silently cut him off before he could begin by setting her hand down beside her on the bench and telegraphing a welcoming pat.

Automne exhaled in relief, calmly walked over, and sat down beside her.

Sitting a little less than a foot away from her, he casually slouched forward, his folded hands resting in his lap. It felt strange for her to sit beside him. Mere hours ago she was internally warring over whether or not she hated him, but right now his presence was somewhat comforting. At the same time though she wanted to be as far away from him as possible, even though she was the one to arrange the meeting in the first place.

While the wind gently stirred her hair, and the plant life in the garden, Eve could feel the tension growing. The silence only perpetuated the awkwardness and discomfort that hung between them. This would not do for Eve decided some time ago that she didn't want this discomfort, all she wanted was to end this.

Eve gave a heavy sigh. "It's dark in here." Eve said quietly.

"Yeah," Automne replied casually, his dour tone still heavy. "They should put some lights in here."

"They could, but then more people would notice this place."

"Yeah… I like this garden. It makes you feel kind of lonely when you're on your own, but when you're with somebody it feels… safe."

Eve nodded her head. "If more people knew about this place I don't think it would feel the same."

"I know what you mean." Automne said softly, squeezing his hands.

Eve glanced over at him and took a small breath. "Automne," She started in a low voice, the cold and nervousness shaking her tone. "I need to apologize for earlier, I overreacted."

"Tch," Automne clicked as he shook his head. "No you didn't. I should have told you days ago. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Eve looked off to a corner of the garden. "It's fine," She replied, her voice cool. "Sienaerde texted me earlier, she explained everything. I understand why you didn't tell me."

"Eve, I wanted to tell you, it's just-"

"Automne," Eve forced an upbeat giggle to stomp Automne's plea. She turned to him and faked a reassuring smile. "It's fine."

Their eyes locked and caressed each other for a few moments, threatening to share their honest emotions until Eve turned away. Setting her gloved hands upon the smooth bench she looked out into black nothingness.

Her fake smile hurt her as she opened her mouth. "I-I think Sienaerde really likes you, and you two seem to get along… so, I'm happy for you." Her feet softly digging into the grass as the words left her mouth. "And…" Her eyes gradually drifted to the ground. "And if either of you ever need anything, you can always-"

Her breathing became heavy and sporadic as Automne placed his hand onto hers.

Like bullets excuses and explanations soared through her head, ricocheting off her skull and raising the heat in her face.

'_His hand…'_ She thought as he turned her hand palm-side up and interwove his fingers with hers. _'He's… He's holding my hand.'_ The warmth of his fingers burning through her gloves.

Her face burned painfully as she began to gently tremble. "Au-Automne… y-you're-"

Without a word Automne leaned over and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into a hug. "Eve… thank you for being such a good friend." His voice cracking miserably as his warmth flowed into Eve. "I'm glad I met you. I don't know where I'd be without you... You've only ever made my life better, and I'm sorry for hurting you."

Warm tears welled in Eve's eyes and began to trickle down her cheeks. Slowly she began to raise her arm to complete the hug, but with a gentle, melancholic sigh he pulled away, hand and all.

Rubbing a hand over his face he turned away from her. "You uh," he started through a loud sniffle. "You sent me a text this morning asking for something. What uh, did you want me to help you with?"

Eve in a hot stupor blinked rapidly. Softly she replied, "I-umm I wanted to ask if you'd… come with me to the gym… so I could do yoga…" Her voice trailing off between thoughts.

"Oh… I'm sorry about that… It's a little too late to do that now, isn't it?" A guilt-ridden frown twisting Automne's mouth as he shamefully stared down at the grass.

"Automne," Eve said quickly, her mouth acting before her head. "I… I think…"

'_What are you doing?! You can't say this!'_ Eve raved internally.

"Automne, there's umm something I need to tell you." Shaking with both anticipation and fear her soul ached and yearned to find comfort. There was no peace though, her lungs were thin and her heart painfully pounded inside as emotions rapidly welled and coursed through her. "Automne I-I think I…

'_I need to tell him now, this is my best chance.'_

Eve took a shallow breath and swallowed dry air, Automne's sweet smell still clinging to her. "Automne," she closed her eyes and slowly began to speak. "I feel like I'm in-"

A chilling vibration roared through the air and shook Eve's body.

Eve opened her eyes and looked down at her pocket, her Scroll vibrating loudly and wildly within. It wasn't just her Scroll though, Automne's was vibrating just as loudly.

Eve paused and glanced down at her pocket. "I umm…"

"You uh… you were going to say something?" Automne mumbled, glancing down at his pocket in confusion.

"Yeah… I uhm…" Eve hummed, the both of their Scrolls vibrating like insane massage devices. "I, uh, I think we should check on that before-"

"Right," Automne replied, nodding his head like he wasn't caught off guard. "Yeah, yeah makes sense."

"Y-yeah," She stammered in a confused mess as they both pulled their Scrolls from their pockets and turned to their screens. Eve internally sighed in relief and shame. Her internal relaxation/self-pity party would have to wait though because her Scroll, which continued to vibrate insanely, demanded her attention.

"Uhhhhh, Eve," Automne moaned in surprise as he turned his Scroll towards her. "Are you…"

"Mhmm," Eve hummed turning her Scroll towards Automne. And endless string of text messages from Petunia and Ty popping onto the screen.

Each message reading, "Urgent! Get back to the room, NOW!"

"I… I think we should go." Eve suggested in a small voice.

To which Automne nodded in agreement. "Yeah… Let's do that."

* * *

"Where the hell have you two melodramatic, slurring, stammering, self-important, pale, anime cliché, wall-flowers been?!" Petunia shouted at Automne and Eve as they entered the dorm.

Prompting Eve to respond with a simple, "What?"

"Let me guess, you two went off to talk about your feeeeelings," an insulting, long whine accompanying the word feelings. "Or some stupid bullshit like that. Seriously, why can't you two just be normal for once in your Dust-damn lives and fuck it out like every other boring, hormonal, angsty-ass teenager at this school. Like seriously I saw a pair of closet lesbians the other day who were more forthcomin' than either of you pasty, introverted nerds."

Automne and Eve stared blankly at Petunia for a good minute before simultaneously turning to Ty who was quietly sitting beside her at their base of operations.

Ty looked at them and gave a light shrug. "She's not wrong."

Eve puffed her cheeks out in frustration and shuffled over to the center of their warm, brightly illuminated room. Typically she'd pay no mind to insults, but in light of recent events these insults were a bit more scathing than usual.

Automne was also, very clearly, taking their colorful introduction with a tad less patience than normal. "Please tell us that isn't the reason you called us back here." He grumbled through his hand, which he was quite busy stroking over his face.

"No, but if you two want-"

"Save it." Automne replied, shuffling over to his bed so he could continue the rest of the conversation from a cushiony, seated position.

Eve who was relatively in the same mind-set as Automne tiredly made her way around his bed and sat down near him. That is to say she sat down at an appropriate distance from him to make it look as though nothing were wrong between the two of them. Even though there really was nothing wrong between the two of them, because they had already resolved their issues. She just wanted to make sure it appeared like everything was fine. Which it was.

For some reason though Ty must not have understood the importance of the distance between them given the way his eyes rapidly flitted back and forth, examining two. With a slightly entertained smile he began. "Are you two-"

"What's the issue?" Eve asked curtly. Cutting him off in an attempt to dispel whatever fallacious beliefs Ty had formed by ignoring them altogether.

Ty, not in the slightest bit wounded by Eve's tone, responded with a casual smile. "Well, it's not necessarily an issue, but we think we just discovered Arsenic's master plan."

Like a switch, Eve's attitude and demeanor changed. Her innards unknotted themselves and her mind sharpened at the mention of their team appointed enemy. She gave a glance to Automne, who looked just as equally surprised, and looked back at her leader. "What? How did you find it?"

"**I** found it after ripping open a few new files this morning." Petunia called out from behind Ty as she flicked her finger across her laptop's trackpad. "I got tired of running the same breach-formula at the files so I decided to mix it up. I ended up finding a way to almost entirely bypass security codes by applying an algorithm a chat room buddy suggested."

Ty gave an affirmative nod and sternly looked at Automne and Eve. "We've already-"

"I've already." Petunia corrected, raising a can of 'Beast' energy drink.

"She's already," he said with an eye roll, "Broken open seven new files, and about a half-dozen more are just about ready to pop. Petunia and I have been looking over the new files for the past couple hours and we think we know what Arsenic's plan is."

"Okay, well, what is it?" Automne said anxiously.

Ty gave a short sigh. "We're not positive, but Petunia and I think Arsenic is trying to take control of Vale."

Like a brick from an air balloon Automne's eyebrows dropped in frustration. "Really, you think so?" His response more than a bit sarcastic.

Ty gave a low growl. "Yes, jackass, now shut up so I can explain why."

"I thought the roaming, militaristic gang was a pretty sound explanation when you told us about it a few weeks ago. What happened since then? Did they start stealing house cats?"

"They're not a gang anymore, dumbass. According to the files we've been reading, the Council of Vale is ready to turnover and declare them our ruling military." Ty quickly turned around and swiped the laptop away from Petunia, who choked on, and almost spit out, her energy drink in infuriation. "All these conversation records we've been looking over for the past few weeks are compilations of blackmail being used against a number of Vale's Council members. They cover just about everything a rising dictator would want to know about the government he's going to overthrow." Ty growled furiously as he shoved the laptop into Automne's hands.

"Worst part is," Petunia said, "Some of the Council members turned as soon as they realized they were being blackmailed. More than half of them have agreed to work with Arsenic and the chick from the club as long as they get a nice fat paycheck in the end. The others are just going to surrender once he makes his move on the city."

Eve tried looking over Automne's shoulder at the digital blackmail, but as each revelation struck her she felt a growing compulsion to stand up. So she did, she wordlessly stood up and walked over to her right to awkwardly stand against the wall between Automne's and Ty's beds.

Ty gave a tired sigh and leaned back in his wooden chair. "One of the files we opened had dozens of plans on how The Phantom Clan could seize Vale. They're ready to strike and if they don't think they can win in a fair fight they're willing to blow apart city defenses and let the Grimm in."

"If they did that all they'd have to do is sit back and let the Grimm do their job for them." Automne grumbled, staring at the laptop intensely.

Eve stared into the floor, her insides writhing and burning with fear and anger. She glanced up at her teammates and swiftly returned her gaze to the floor. She took a deep breath, balling her hands into fists of confidence and turned her gaze back up to her leader. "Ty, I don't think we should keep this to ourselves anymore." Stepping forward she held her head high and used all her effort to keep her voice steady. "This is crazy, we can't deal with a… terrorist plot. We need to hand what we found over to the authorities so they can deal with Arsenic."

"Heh," Petunia chuckled sardonically, shaking her head as she stared down into her can of energy. "After all we've done to get this far, you just want to give up." Petunia glared over at Eve and shakily stood up. The effects of her endless hours of hacking evident in her sickly, pale appearance. With watery bloodshot eyes she looked directly at Eve, took a swig from her can, and cleared her throat. "If you want to ditch us, go ahead and stay behind, but I have worked too hard to give up now."

"Petunia, I know you've been working the hardest, but Arsenic is dangerous. We can't handle something like this." Eve stressed, sincere fear bubbling in her voice. "We need to hand this over to the police, or the Security Forces, they'll know what to do-"

"We can handle this ourselves." Petunia denied, her head lightly shaking as her cold grimace chewed away at Eve. "Besides, we couldn't hand it over to the police if we wanted to. They'd probably just shoot us on the spot since they're working with him."

"Petunia, stow it." Ty demanded, heat rising in his voice as he rose to his feet to turn and point her in the face. "I told you, I don't want to hear another word about your stupid theory."

"It's not a theory Tyrian, it's a fucking fact." Petunia slurred, hostility casually working itself into her exhausted glare. "You and I both know that a good portion of those files we looked at weren't about council members. And the Phantom Clan has been making too many payments whenever Vale PD starts snooping around."

"Petunia, what are you saying?" Eve asked, less for the sake of clarification and more for the sake of confirmation.

Petunia turned to Eve with a large, smug grin. "What I'm saying is that the Phantom Clan has Vale PD and heads of Vale's Security Forces in their pocket."

"You have no proof." Ty spat in a low voice.

Petunia whipped her head around to him and shoved her finger into his breastplate. "I do, I looked into it and your pal workin' in Vice has been taking bribes from that strip club so they can cover-up a brothel and a drug-house. Whenever he went a knockin' at The Oasis his bank account went up."

Ty smacked her hand away. "No cop would work with a bastard like Arsenic."

"Hate to break it to you Tyrian, but your buddies are working with a cop-killer just so they can make a few extra bucks on the side and keep their heads above water when Arsenic takes charge."

Every iota of their expressions dripped spite as they glared into each other. Their eyes and their hands twitched in anticipation of a conflict while Automne watched in silence and Eve stood by trying to think of a solution to their dilemma.

"Alright," Eve said tentatively. "If we can't go to the police or the Security Forces why don't we just turn over what we have to Ozpin, or-or make it go public."

"Eve, we can't go public with this." Automne said calmly, gesturing to the laptop. "It's all text, anyone can write this stuff. No court would take this seriously."

"We can't go public either." Ty's voice tepid as he stepped back from Petunia to address Eve. "If we bring it public we'll only be giving Arsenic and his Clan time to cover their tracks and destroy evidence before anything can be done."

"W-well," Eve buckling slightly as eyes shifted to her again. "There have to be some video or audio recordings of these conversations. We could use those to expose Arsenic."

"If there were recordings, they're not going to be digital." Petunia rejecting her claim this time. "They'd probably be locked away in a safe somewhere in the city. Hell, we don't even know if they'd keep them in the city. And even if we knew how to find the recordings who knows how well they'd even be guarded. It's a complete crap shoot."

"As for Ozpin," Ty started again, his arms folded as he stared at the floor. "There's nothing he could do unless we had physical proof that could tie anybody to a crime. This would all be nothing but conjecture, and if anything we'd end up looking like a bunch of idiots trying to slander Council members."

"The only solution is to take out Arsenic." Confidence boiling in Petunia's voice. "If we kill Arsenic the Phantom Clan will break apart and the rest of the roaches will scatter. What we need to do is hunt him down before he can make his next move."

"But we can't go after Arsenic." Eve pleaded, the severity of her message telegraphed through her harsh frown and the agitated waving her hands. "He's a murderer and he has an army. If we go up against him on our own we could die. We need to find another way."

"Hey guys," Automne's croak breaking the debate. His voice was calm, but unsettlingly agitated as he called for their attention. "One of these files just opened up and… take a look."

Eve looked between Ty and Petunia, curiosity and uncertainty could be seen in the both of them. It swam through their eyes and twisted their expressions as all three of them walked over to Automne's bed.

Gently, Automne passed the laptop to Eve who took it in her hands and with wide eyes stared at the screen in shock.

'_My ID picture?'_ Eve thought to herself as she stared at a simple picture of herself looking into the camera. Beside her picture was: Her name, her height, her age, a description of her semblance, a description of her weapon, and a very in-depth description of her fighting style. That wasn't all. There was more, and all of it sent chills through her body.

"Eye color: Light purple/ Very light blue"

The listings of her profile ringing in her ears.

"Personality: Introverted, shy, polite, trusting"

"Exploitable weaknesses: Puts the well-being of others before her own. Will likely sacrifice herself to assist others. Capable of being subjected to emotional trauma/mental torture. Semblance drains her aura; semblance will weaken her and leave her vulnerable for extended periods of time… "

The list continued on.

'_What is this?'_ Eve thought as she began to tremble. A large red box with white text next to her picture attracting and holding her gaze.

"Threat," Eve mumbled quietly as she stood there. Slowly she began to scroll up the page revealing that she wasn't the only one with a profile. Her whole team had profiles as well, along with a few classmates she recognized, and loads of other students she had seen around the school.

"Eve, what is it?" Petunia asked, concern in her voice as she stepped around behind the girl to view the laptop.

"They're…" Eve stopped to think of a proper explanation as her profile repeatedly flashed through her mind.

"Hey… I recognize people on here." Petunia said softly, her eyes scampering across profile after profile. "These are upper classmen… I think that's a Professor."

"What?" Ty said, walking over and taking the laptop from her. He quickly ran his eyes over it again and again as he scrolled through the pages. Astonishment hit his face as he came to and stopped at his profile. "Wha… How did… What the fuck is this?!" Anger rising in his voice as Eve imagined him reading over every observation the writer of his profile made.

"Those profiles cover every solitary fact about us from our schedules to our fighting styles." Automne grumbled distantly. Petunia and Ty looked down at him, doubt in their eyes as they began to steel themselves.

Eve fearfully looked at Automne, his face somber and his body weighed down by what he had just seen. She already knew what he was thinking, they all knew, but the very notion made all of them wince internally. Her breath passed heavy from her soft chapped lips as she dreaded what he was about to suggest.

He gave a loud breath and looked down at the floor. "There's a mole in Beacon Academy."

* * *

**A/N: As we get closer to the end of The (Un)Forgettable Team TAPE a number of... *points up* things... will be happening. So, if you feel like freaking out about a chapter in the reviews, please by all means do so, but please be courteous to our fellow readers and try not to spoil anything for those who haven't read this far in. Or at least put a spoilers notice at the top of your review. Or if you think it has too many spoilers, send it to me in a PM. I read all my PMs.**

**Also, if you've come this far, please don't quit on me now. Especially you shippers out there, there's still more to come.**

**Thanks for reading everybody. This, that is writing, really gives me a purpose and I'm glad I'm able to share it with you. Here's to another 5,000 views (Or whatever number we're at). Also if you're enjoying the story favorite, follow, review and recommend to anybody who might like this little morsel of literature.****Tune in next time for more, but until then peace out.**

**-CS**


	24. Keeping secrets hurts friendships

**This is a long one y'all. Also, don't forget to mind spoilers. Enjoy.**

* * *

By now it was utterly dark outside of the team's dorm room, which if Eve was being honest, was not the top concern at the moment. "A-a mole… at Beacon?" Eve stammered in shock, Automne's declaration slapping against the walls of her skull rather loudly. Her periwinkle eyes bounced between her teammates, searching for some kind of comforting sign. Surely one of them would break into giggles at the notion of a mole. But the evidence, the same evidence suggesting that mental torture was the best way to defeat her, was preventing anything like that

Eve ran eyes over her teammates again as she tightly clenched her hands. She tried to steady her breathing and continue on as the sickening truth whipped up waves in her stomach. "B-b-but that c-could be anyone."

"There are hundreds of people at the school." Ty's voice stern, his hands loosely grasping the laptop, and a crooked scowl lightly tugging his lips. "Could be a Professor… maybe one of the guards," A chill ran through Eve as Ty, at a snail's pace, looked over his teammates suspiciously. "More than likely though, it's another student."

A cold sweat began to break through Eve's skin as Automne and Petunia joined in the act of throwing suspicious glares at one another.

'_T-they can't think… b-but what if it is?'_ Eve cautiously glanced over her partner, her leader and her best friend. The idea that any of the three could have betrayed her swishing and swashing through her mind like a mixture of mercury and snake venom. By judging them she'd be judging herself and every gram of faith she had placed in the three over the past few months.

Eve swallowed hard. _'T-they can't be the moles. I-I know them… they're my friends.'_ The sentiments did little to stop the quickened rising and falling of Eve's chest. _'I…I know them… I trust them.'_

Outside of Eve's mind, with the exception of some unsteady breathing, the room remained silent. The four teammates nervously ran eyes amongst themselves and, for a moment, tension seemed to weaken. In this brief moment, Eve was capable of looking over her teammates, her friends, and without any doubt she was capable of convincing herself that she could trust them.

Eve let out a nervous, shaky sigh and looked between the three again, ready to hear what they thought.

With a steely expression Ty turned away from the group and began to slowly walk to the other side of his bed. Ty rounded the foot and as he approached the other side, Petunia, without warning, leaped over Automne's bed and slid under her own.

This in turn prompted both Automne and Ty to dive to the floor in a panic. From there Automne tossed one of his Escrima sticks to Eve, who fumbled with it for a moment before dropping it.

Not even slightly phased by Eve's failure, Automne pulled out his pistol, and popped off the ground like a spring just in time to participate in an armed stand-off with Ty and Petunia.

"Put your gun down!" Ty shouted at Petunia who was struggling to decide if she should point her shotgun at Ty or Automne.

"Put _your_ gun down!" Petunia responded, her words somehow inspiring Automne to turn back to Ty and point his gun at him.

'_What is happening?!'_ Eve screamed internally as she stiffened like a board and tried to avoid irritating the gunslingers.

"Automne, don't point your gun at me, you jackass! I'll shoot you, you piece of shit." Ty growled, now struggling with the decision if he should point his gun at Automne or Petunia. "Point your gun at her, she's the mole!"

"I'm not the mole, jackass! Automne's the mole!" Petunia's words prompting all guns to be turned to Automne.

Automne quickly looked back and forth between the two. "I'm not the mole, you fucking idiots! If anyone is the mole, it's Ty! He's been working with dirty cops!"

"I have not been working with dirty cops! And if I was, I didn't know! Besides, I was the one who said we should keep pursuing Arsenic, why would I do that if I was the mole?!"

"Because you're trying to turn him over so you'll look like a hero!" Automne's logic winning him Petunia's shotgun barrel of approval.

"That is absolutely retarded! I'd never work with him! I would have put a bullet in his head the first time I met him!" Ty's fiery glare, and gun, turned from Automne to Petunia. "That sounds like something the resident attention whore would have done to shove herself into the spotlight!"

Petunia's eyes darted between the two, her muscles nervously twitching as Automne turned his aim towards her. "Oh, screw you Automne, and fuck you Ty! I'm not the mole!"

"You would only have things to gain if you stuck with him _or_ turned him in. And you're the one whose been pushing us after him this whole time." Ty added, throwing accusations at her like stones.

"That only proves that I'm not the mole. If I wanted to get famous like you're saying I never would have went and found the servers to begin with. And if I was flippin' on Arsenic, then why the hell would I have even bothered with these stupid ass files?! If I wanted to turn on him I would have just made up some story about how I found where he lived!" Petunia shouted before turning her iron sights to Automne. "Automne, on the other hand, has never once agreed with us about going after Arsenic! He's the mole!"

"Screw you, I'm not the mole!" Automne yelled, his body quivering from either fear or adrenaline as he tried to focus his gun on Petunia.

"You've been nothing, but unhelpful this entire time. And recently it seems like you just don't want us to find him at all." Petunia shook her head at him, her lips twisting into a scowl as she tucked the butt of her shotgun into her shoulder. "I never liked you, I always got a bad vibe off of you, and this is why. You're the mole!"

Automne slackened slightly, shaking his head at her, he gave the girl a hateful glare. "**The reason I am unhelpful** is because every time we go on these stupid missions I'm the one who ends up with an open wound and a lot less blood. I have nothing to gain by going out on these stupid little adventures with you, and you know what?! If I was working with Arsenic, why the hell would he have attacked me that night we went to the club?! I was barely a threat to him and he went out of his way to stab me! Explain that, genius!"

Petunia stared at Automne fiercely, her eyes signifying that she was cutting up and processing his story. After a few seconds of no one declaring anyone a mole had passed, Petunia swiftly turned her gun toward Eve. "Eve's the mole!"

"What?" Eve screamed in shock, her stomach lurching at the prospect of betraying anyone.

"You've been playing us all along with that whole innocent nice girl bull! You act all sweet and polite, but then you'll write down all our secrets and give them to Arsenic." Petunia's accusations physically harming Eve.

"Petunia," Eve whimpered softly. "How-how could you- You're my friends." Her throat quavering as her partner assaulted her with allegations. A weak smile, asking for empathy twitched on her lips as she closed her hands together and held them out as if she were praying for mercy.

"Don't pull that on me." Petunia coldly rejected, her gun aimed at the center of Eve's chest. "And you know what, it all makes sense. The way you led guards to us at the abandoned base, the convenient way you got sick around the time of our mission, and this whole time, you have never been supportive of stopping Arsenic. Every time we bring it up you get quiet, and defensive, and you make excuses. What's the matter? Can't keep a smile on when we're trying to kill your boss?"

"Petunia, shut the fuck up." Automne demanded stepping out in front of Eve, his gun pointed at Petunia's face. "Eve's not the Dust damn mole, you idiot."

"Oh yeah, well if you know her so much better than the rest of us, then why doesn't she want to stop a murderer? N' why does she spend so much time by herself?" Petunia asked with a venomous lilt. "She's already so quiet and disinterested in everything we're trying to do. Why is she always trying to get away from us, Automne?"

"**Because**, after long days of dealing with suicidal idiots like you who tricked her into doing something she doesn't want to do she deserves some alone time. Besides that…" Automne paused and slowly stepped backwards until he was standing directly in front of Eve. Briefly, he removed his gaze from Petunia to glance back at Eve, a comforting glint within his hazel eyes lifting away some of her pain.

Healing, she flashed him a small smile and with that Automne turned back toward Petunia, and with confidence and hostility he continued. "I spend just about all of my free time with Eve, just like I did today. And in all the time we've spent together I've never once noticed her do anything suspicious. I didn't even see her glance at another student today or do anything remotely suspicious. So, I will vouch for her, with complete certainty, when I say she is not the mole."

Petunia lowered her weapon slightly, her eyes skeptically bouncing between the two. "Oh my Dust… you two are having sex in public places?!"

"What?!" Eve screeched, the sudden whiplash leaving both her and Automne slightly disoriented.

"You are, aren't you?!"

Blood rushed into Eve's cheeks setting her skin on fire. "We are not having sex! We aren't even a couple!" More than a bit of spite coming from her embarrassed exclamation.

"You two have just been running around the school for months having sex in random places! This explains literally everything!" She paused for a moment while embarrassment and horror consumed Automne and Eve "Wait a minute…" Petunia stopped and stared down at the floor. She gave a large gasp and quickly turned back to Automne and Eve in shock. "Oh my Dust… Eve, are you pregnant?!"

It was right about there when Eve's face managed to go up a whole two shades of red. "I-I am a virgin!"

Petunia gave another gasp. "You're doing it in the ass?!"

"Petunia, shut the hell up!" Automne barked, his own face a red mess of embarrassment.

Eve was pretty certain Petunia had another unwanted piece of advice in mind, but once Ty discharged a couple rounds from his sidearm into his bed the subject of unorthodox exhibitionism fell through the floor.

"First off," Ty started. "Eve, congratulations, I'll make sure to get the baby something nice."

"I am abstinent!" Eve responded, with the stomping of her foot.

"You're doing a pretty poor job at that then." Ty jabbed with a proud smirk.

"Ty, shut the hell up!" Automne ordered, placing a hand on Eve's shoulder to prevent her from going ballistic.

"Okay, I was just trying to keep things light, because I have some good news for all of you. None of us are moles." Ty's smile considerably less playful and his voice much more serious. "While Petunia was interrogating you two I decided to go through the profiles the mole had written-out. The four of us are all listed as 'threats' and we all have equally revealing profiles." Ty placed the laptop down on his bedspread and turned the screen around for the others to see. "While I want to say it's safe to assume we can trust each other, we just found an entire archive listing off information on a majority of the student population and a number of the Professors."

Eve, mostly cooled from the teasing, calmly stepped forward. Her cheeks still a warm pink and her eyebrows drooping in dismay she looked to her leader and asked: "What are we going to do?"

Ty gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his mouth. "I'm not sure."

"Why don't we try and use it against the mole?" Petunia suggested, stepping around from the other side of the room to join the others around the laptop. "If we can find the mole we can bend their arm and have 'em lead us to Arsenic."

"Yeah, that could work." Ty responded unenthusiastically. "But until we actually find them we don't know who we'll be able to trust. Like, what if Arsenic asked them to kill us while we were in a training exercise. And what about this info? We can't just let Arsenic hang onto the profiles of dozens upon dozens of Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"What're you thinking?" Eve asked, logical thoughts beginning to reemerge in her mind as she looked between her teammates.

Ty gave a weak sigh of contemplation, his chin cradled in one hand as he turned to stare at the laptop. "We have to turn what we found over to Ozpin."

Petunia swiftly turned to Ty in shock, "Dude!"

"Petunia, we can't hang on to this any longer. There is a mole at Beacon studying every student, and judging by the information here it could even be a Professor. We can't risk the lives of other Huntsmen just to catch Arsenic." Ty gave a resigned sigh as he made an effort to keep his chin up. "As of right now, this is something we cannot handle. We need to hand it over to Ozpin, tonight."

Ty briskly turned, his gaze still sitting low he went over to their base of operations, and grabbed a thumb drive.

'_Yes!'_ Eve's subconscious cheered, her prayers answered as the nightmare that was the search for Arsenic approached its end.

Petunia, grinding her teeth in a silent fury rolled her weapon into one hand and squeezed it tightly. "Ty, you can't seriously be thinking about handing this over to Ozpin after all we've done." Petunia snapped, stepping forward she seized Ty by the wrist.

Ty pulled to wrench his wrist from her grip, but rather than continue to struggle stopped and stared at the laptop with resentment. "Do you remember what I told you when I said I'd allow you to dig into these files? I told you that we'd be doing it because 'it was the just thing to do'." He quickly turned back to Petunia, her expression stony and untouched by his words. With little effort he ripped his wrist away. "I cannot and will not let you hang on to these files for your own reasons…"

As Petunia continued to glare at him her spirit unwavering, he stopped again to glower at the laptop.

"Don't get it yet?" Ty's voice bitter as he cut deep into Petunia's harsh magenta eyes. "Team Ruby, profiles on all of them." Ty growled as he picked up the laptop and began to scroll through the list of students. "Team Cardinal, profiles on them. Team Juniper, profiles on them. Team Sepia, Profil-" Ty stopped and stared intently at the screen.

Eve and Automne stood by mildly confused as Petunia's eyes flickered between Ty and the laptop a couple times.

"What is it?" Automne's voice a bit hoarse as he stared at Ty, unaware as to what was so special about Team Sepia.

Without missing a beat, Ty calmly turned to Automne and explained. "Sienaerde Gewehr-Tänzerin, one of the top students at this school, has nothing on her profile."

"What?" Petunia's anger turning to curiosity as she swept over to Ty and took her laptop.

"But," Eve chimed, confusion bogging down her mind as the events took a turn into the day's happenings. "I-I thought everyone had a profile on there?" She asked coolly as she subtly turned to Automne. Hastily glancing him up and down, his unsettled expression and nervous posture signaling that he was just as surprised as she was.

"What's her profile say?" Automne's voice cracking slightly as he fixated his eyes on the laptop.

"That's the thing," Ty responded flatly, glancing up from the laptop for a brief moment. "All it has is her name and her profile picture. No eye color; no description of her weapon; no mental weaknesses, and you know how we had the status of 'Threat' she has no status, none at all."

Eve's mind buzzed like a wild bee hive as mental images from earlier in the day and first impressions of a gentler Sienaerde collided with the concept that she could be some sort of mole. While Ty and Petunia launched into a discussion about the plausibility that Sienaerde was the mole Eve silently tugged upon Automne's sleeve. With a skittish look in her eyes she watched as the dirty blonde glanced over to her. Quickly her eyes darted to Ty and Petunia, and when she was certain they were distracted she mouthed the words, "Is she?"

Automne's eyes sat upon Eve's for a few long moments, their depths swimming with a cool sadness. Slowly he turned back toward their teammates and shook his head.

Eve stared at the side of Automne's face for a moment before turning back to her team and tuning into the conversation.

"It fits." Petunia exclaimed confidently as she gestured toward Sienaerde's profile. "She fights in some of the top tiers and how hard would it be for her to get access to Professor's records. All she'd have to do is sneak in when no one's looking, and she's such a goody-goody that no one would suspect her."

"Yeah," Automne piped up, his voice poorly covering his bias. "But why would she just fight with us throughout the semester? All that would do is call attention to herself."

"Who knows?" Ty declared disinterestedly as he shoved the drive into the side of the laptop. "Sienaerde is the closest thing to a suspect we have right now." He gave a few swift swipes and taps to the trackpad and turned to his teammates with a stoic face. "Here's the plan: Automne, once this drive is done copying these files, you're going to take it directly to Ozpin. We can't trust anybody in the school except for ourselves and Ozpin, so you're going to get it to him without being seen. If you see somebody coming your way, use your semblance. We need to get this to him tonight and nobody can know about it. Got it?"

Ty's dry, serious voice pressed harshly on Automne as the dark-haired young man cut into him with his eyes. A sour frown hung upon Automne's mouth and refused to stretch, twist, or shift as he gave Ty a simple nod.

And as weak of a confirmation as that was Ty refused to dawdle. "As for Sienaerde, we have no idea how she's been getting information on Professors. For all we know she could be working with one or she could be by herself. Either way, if we hand over the files to Ozpin she might run. Petunia and Eve, once Automne takes off with the files we're going to head down to the locker room, gear up real quick, and pay Sienaerde a visit."

Dismay swept over Eve. "Wh-what are we going to do to her?" Her view shifting to Automne in concern.

"When we find her," Ty continued, not even slightly disturbed by Eve's input. "The three of us are going to capture her and bring her to Ozpin or security. We'll tell them she's a mole working for a criminal organization and they can take care of her from there." A flinty look in his eyes he glanced over all of them and gave a slightly morose sigh. Ty set the laptop down on his bed and stared down at it with as straight a face as he could manage. "I know when we're in over our heads, guys, and I'm not going to let this go on any further." Proudly he turned back to them and gave them an inflexible scowl. "Tonight we are officially handing this off to Ozpin, no ifs, ands, or buts."

With Ty's speech done Petunia gave long, groan and rolled her eyes. "I still think we could do this on our own."

Ty shot her a resentful frown. "Like I said before, we're in over our heads, and knowing what we just found out I can't let us go on like we've been doing."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't make this any less bullshit." Petunia griped as she raised and ejected a shell from her shotgun with a pout.

"Yeah, well, deal with it." Ty snapped as he turned back to the laptop to check on its progress. "Automne, I'd suggest you start getting ready. Once this thing is done downloading I want you out the door and headed straight for Ozpin."

"Yeah, alright, but Ty," Automne's glum voice splashing against Eve like droplets of ice water. "Eve and I were kind of talking about something before we came over here. So, if you don't mind we'd like to get back to that before we go off on… this." Automne said softly as he looked back at Eve and gestured for her to follow him.

Ty gave an exhausted groan. "Alright, fine, make it fast, dude. You only have a few minutes."

With a couple uncertain glances to Ty and Petunia, who were now standing about looking gloomy, Eve silently shuffled after Automne. With a brief stop to close the dividing curtain, the pair made their way across the room and over to Eve's bed. Undoubtedly worried for their privacy, both shot one more skeptical look at the curtain before seating themselves on Eve's bed.

With matters settling in Eve's mind like a thick haze she let out an exhausted sigh and slouched forward. If she weren't under any time restraints, she would take every second she had to mull over her thoughts or let her nerves settle. Right now however, she was under a time restraint, and a strict one at that. With one last sigh to steady her voice she looked ahead at the dorm's plain wallpaper and whispered. "Thank you."

Automne, following suit, leaned forward to rest his elbows upon his knees. "For what?"

"For standing up for me." Eve muttered, peeping over at him from the corner of her eye. "You lied to defend me."

Automne delicately nodded his head. "You're not the mole. It seemed easier to tell her we were together the whole day."

"But…" Eve fiddled with her fingers as she resisted the urge to face him directly. "How could you have known that I wasn't the mole?"

Automne gave a single short chuckle and knocked his knee against hers. "Eve, you're not a mole and I know it."

A meager little smile sprouted upon Eve's face for a moment before wilting to a frown. She hastily glanced at Automne legs and swallowed back the reluctance lingering over her next question. "Automne… I know you and Sienaerde have gotten… close," The last word burning eve's mouth like dry ice. "But are you sure she's not the mole?"

Automne didn't immediately respond, he sat and stared at the floor, discomfort slathered over the little face Eve could make out from the corner of her eye. Calmly, he took in a deep breath and exhaled before replying with an unconvinced, "Yes… I'm certain she's not the mole… She's a good person, Ty and Petunia just have the wrong impression about her."

Eve paused for a brief moment, her thumbs pushing against each other. "What about the profile?"

Automne exhaled deeply. "I don't know… Maybe Arsenic changed her profile to throw us off or… something. All I know though is Sienaerde is not the mole."

The two fell silent. Thoughts stirred the ice water in Eve's head as she stared at Automne's legs. She did not doubt a word he said, or rather she did not doubt that he believed what he was saying, but after the horrible revelation that there was a mole amongst them she had to doubt him. That in itself, that vile, disgusting fact sent tremors through her body.

"Eve," Automne's voice cracking through her stupor as he turned to look her in the face.

Catching her off guard she flinched and quickly straightened herself into a proper seated position. She softly cleared her throat and replied with a simple, polite, "Yes?"

Automne opened his mouth and hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat and saying. "Wh… Back in the garden, you wanted to tell me something."

Blood rapidly rushed to Eve's cheeks. "Oh… Yeah… _that_."

'_No!'_ Eve screamed internally as the room grew to an uncomfortably sweltering temperature.

"I-uh, I figured since we have a bit of time, maybe we could finish that conversation."

"Ummm, yeah, sure. Why not?" Eve slurred, the words hastily jumping from her mouth to commit suicide as she struggled to look Automne in the face.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" A friendly smile spread across Automne's lips.

"I-uh I-uh- wanted to-"

'_Say something you look like an idiot!'_

"-To-to tell you that IIIIIIII-"

Just then the light bulb delivery cell showed up in Eve's head to install a new bulb.

Eve gave a small gasp. "I-uh, I've been gaining a lot of weight lately and I need to go on a diet."

Automne stared at her blankly. "You need to go on a diet?" He repeated, making the voices in Eve's head scream even louder.

"Ye-yes!" Nervousness assuring Eve that volume was the proper way to deliver a point. "Yes, your cooking is really unhealthy and I-I need you to stop making meals for me."

'_Wait a minute.'_ A voice in Eve's head piped up as it realized what Eve was asking. _'This means we have to give up all his desserts! And his dinners! And Chicken and Waffles!' _It was also around this point that Eve began to contemplate the mentality of sacrificing sweets, carbs, and sugars just to hide emotions.

Luckily for her Automne clearly wasn't buying into her story. "Eve you don't need to go on a diet. You look fine right now."

"N-no I don't." Eve stammered. "I-I've gained seven pounds in the last month."

Automne gave a small chuckle. "So what if you've put on a few pounds, you look fine. You're just as svelte as when we met."

Eve gave a gasp. "Don't call me that. That word is-"

"Accurate?"

"-Inappropriate. You shouldn't call me that." Eve huffed, her cheeks practically searing the rest of her face.

"Do you even know the definition of 'svelte'?" Automne asked with a large smirk.

"I know it's a compliment and it's a compliment you shouldn't be giving since you have a… a girlfriend." The second part Eve softly hissed through her teeth as she cast a cautious glance back to the curtain.

"Okay, first off, that compliment is fine to give out," Automne raised a hand to his mouth and whispered. "Even if I have a girlfriend." He stressed with a clear sassiness in his voice. "And second, it's a true statement, so I'm not going to take it back, and third-"

"Automne!" Ty's stern voice called out from the other side of the curtain. "The drive is ready. Let's go."

All traces of playfulness fell away from Automne and Eve. In an instant every one of Eve's frivolous concerns were quickly washed from her mind as she stared into Automne's eyes. Her strong expression quickly crumbling as uncertainties created unpleasant thoughts.

"Last chance," Automne muttered to her; fear, sorrow and something unidentifiable creeping into his eyes.

Eve's eyelids lightly drooped as she lowered her gaze to his chest. Without raising her eyes she moved over to him, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and wrapped her arms overtop his shoulders.

Small, warm waves flowed off her and into his body as she delicately rubbed against him. Her glasses jabbed and brushed painfully into her face as she nuzzled his sweater and scarf. Gently his arms were placed around her back, and when he squeezed her softly, tears welled in her eyes.

"Automne let's go!" Ty called again, his voice digging into Eve painfully.

Eve gave an inaudible whimper. "Ty's afraid… I've never seen him afraid." Eve muttered into Automne, her voice shaking as her hold on him tightened. "Please… be safe."

Automne gave a heavy, pessimistic sigh as the fabrics of their clothes softly moaned in unison. "You too,"

"Dude, come on!" Ty growled, the sound of the curtain being pulled aside ringing in Eve's ears.

"Gimme a minute!" Automne spat hostilely as he gently lifted his arms from around Eve. With a hesitant breath he placed them on Eve's shoulders and lifted her away from him, her wrists still crossed behind his neck.

Eve slowly pried her eyes open to stare in horror at a miserable little smile sitting beneath Automne's nose. She knew it was there to reassure her, and that only made her fears worse.

"Don't worry," Automne remarked, "It'll all be okay."

Eve let Automne remove her arms from around him with no struggle and watched as he rose from her bed and made his way over to Ty.

Without a word Automne took the small drive from Ty, and in a startling move quickly wrapped his arms around his leader, bestowing upon him a hug and a firm pat on the back. Eve almost felt the urge to smile as her leader stood stony faced through the entire thing, but she knew what it meant and resisted her urge.

"Hey, drama queen." Petunia called out to Automne as he pulled from his brotherly embrace. "You're going to Ozpin's office, not your funeral." Her arms contently crossed behind her head as she laid stretched out on his bed. With a smug grin she raised his other Escrima stick into the air. "Either way, you might want this."

Automne's eyebrows jumped in surprise for a moment only to fall back into place as a placid smile grew on his lips.

Shutting her eyes tiredly she threw his Escrima at his chest, and happily listened to the sound of him fumble with it. She gave a light snicker as she peered out at him through barely opened eyes. "See you in like a half-hour you stupid spaz."

Eve gave a whimper-like giggle as Automne scowled at Petunia and attached his weapon to his belt. A small flame flickered in Eve's chest as Automne glanced over at her with a warm, if not apprehensive smile. Quietly, she watched as he looked between his teammates once more before disappearing from sight. With a click the door opened, just wide enough for someone about Automne's size to slip out, and then shut.

'_It's alright.'_ Eve told herself as the room fell jarringly silent. _'He has the easiest part. He'll be fine.'_ Eve took a deep breath and gently rubbed at her damp, sticky eyes. _'Like he said, it'll be okay.'_

"Eve, you good?" Some concern penetrating Ty's dry voice.

Eve gave him a simple nod.

"Are you going to give us some big melodramatic goodbye next?" Ty's concern now replaced with sarcasm.

"No," Eve grumbled through a sniffle.

"Petunia, how about you? Any big proclamations of love or anything?"

"Eve, I love your cute, firm ass and ever since Automne started to fatten you up your tits have been getting a whole lot better." Petunia's confession of love appropriately coming along with a thumbs up. "Like seriously, it's starting to look like you have some actual boobs now."

"Petunia!" Eve screamed as she bolted to her feet, grabbed her pillow, and hurled it across the room at her.

"Oh come on!" Petunia laughed, her arms held out in defense as Eve looked for more things to throw at her. "One of us in here actually had to profess our love, and I for one loooo-"

"Petunia, that's enough." Ty stated before Eve could whip herself into an emotional tizzy. "I was just giving Automne a minute to get down the hall. Now, if neither of you have any objections, let's go gear up, and catch our mole."

A small shock burst through Eve's mind as she remembered the role she was about to play in their little operation.

'_Automne thinks she's innocent.'_

Petunia gave a heavy sigh, rolled off Automne's bed with a grimace, and raised her shotgun up to her shoulder. "I honestly hope Sienaerde resists so I can bash her across the back of the head. Seriously, if I don't get to rough 'er up then this thing will have been a complete wash."

"If she resists, then do whatever it takes." Ty responded nonchalantly as he opened the door for Petunia. "All we need to do is turn her over to security. We don't need to be nice."

'_She can't be innocent, she had no profile.'_

Eve distractedly stood beside her bed, her hands squeezing themselves whilst dry air passed through her open mouth like a fine sand.

'_Automne must be wrong about her… I… We can't take any chances.'_

"Eve, come on we gotta go." Ty impatiently called from the doorway.

Eve blinked rapidly as she turned her gaze up to her leader. "I-uh- sorry." Eve stammered, her feet clumsily skittering across the floor as she lowered her head and made her way past their beds and towards the door.

Her head bowed, Eve, Ty, and Petunia silently slipped from the dorm and made their way down the hall.

Eve internally took a deep breath of air and told herself: _'If she's innocent, she's innocent.'_ And with that she let the waters of her mind fall as calm as they could.

* * *

The three shuffled up the dormitory stairwell in silence, or at least Ty, Petunia, and Eve were silent. Their weapons and their armor, along with their numerous accessories, lightly jingled, clicked, clacked, and rattled as they climbed the stairs with serious expressions.

And that's how it remained until Petunia, following right behind Ty, looked her leader in the back of the head and asked, "Is this really the plan?"

"Yes." Ty's short gruff reply filling neither of his subordinates with much confidence.

"We're just gonna walk up to the door-"

"Ask if she's there, and if she's not we'll go in and wait for her." Ty continued as he stepped onto the next floor and turned around. With a serious frown he crossed his arms to deliver unto them a lecture in plan formulation. "It's her dorm and it's already getting late, she has to come back to it at some point."

"Unless she doesn't." Petunia suggested with a scowl, bumping him aside so she could make her way into the deserted hall.

"She doesn't know we're coming, so she has no reason to avoid her room." Irritation budding in Ty's voice as he jogged up to Petunia to give her a shove in the side. "So, get over your stupid personal shit and focus."

Eve gave a small sigh and nervously squeezed the shaft of her weapon while Petunia punched Ty in his chest plate. While her teammates tried to keep their physical dispute at a reasonable volume she quietly stared at her weapon and mulled over her thoughts.

'_What if she… We already decided… besides, this is for the best.'_ Her weapon resting against her shoulder she ran her forefinger across its long wooden body. _'After tonight it's all over. No more worrying about criminals, or files, or drama, we'll just go back to classes and things will be normal… And if she's the mole, maybe he'll-'_ "Oof!"

"Ack- Hey, watch it."

"Huh?" Eve chimed. Snapping back to the real world she quickly realized that she had just tried to walk through her teammates who had, at some point, convened around a door bearing the number 187.

"Eve, pay attention, we're here." Ty sternly ordered as he adjusted his gear. Once he had assured himself that his weapon was properly fastened to his belt and that his chest plate was strapped on tightly, his eyes shot up to Eve and burrowed into her. "You've been quiet ever since we left the room."

Air seeped out of Eve in painful quantities as her gloves tightened around her weapon. "I'm- I'm just a bit nervous." She replied softly, her periwinkle eyes skittering everywhere.

Ty gave off a short sympathetic exhale, raised his fist up to the door and a rapped his knuckles against it. "Don't bring up the plan or anything we've found out. Just… try and be casual about it."

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind while we're holding them at gunpoint." Petunia scoffed, tugging at her jacket to illicit a soft clatter from the shotgun on her back.

Ty made to turn back to her, but a light shuffling from the other side of the door made him spin back around like a top. "Petunia, stow it." Ty slurred rapidly as the door gave a metallic click and slowly began to creak open.

As soon as the light from the interior of the dorm struck them the three tensed and with bated breath and twitchy fingers stood by and watched as the door widened. Blurs and blotches of beige obstructed by light gradually began to take form to reveal a young man dressed in a snappy four piece suit.

His face was mostly cast in shadows, but it was clear from the way his thin pointed nose and tired eyes swept over Ty, Petunia, and Eve that he wasn't judging them very fairly. His churlish tone reflected that observation as well. "Can I help you?"

Ty barely lapsed for a moment before taking the lead. "Hi, Ecru, is it?"

"Yes," The dorm dweller in the doorway replied, his tone not softening. His cobalt eyes sharpened as his eyebrows bowed in the middle. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah," Ty's voice struggling to remain polite. "We're looking for Sienaerde, is she in right now?"

Ecru gave an exhausted groan and rolled his eyes. "Like I told your friend, she's not here right now, and I already told him where you could find her. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Ty's cool demeanor thrown aside as he raised a hand to stop Ecru from closing the door on them. "What friend?"

Ecru gave another small groan. "Your teammate, the one who can turn invisible. He came by here about ten minutes ago and asked where Sienaerde was. I told him she wasn't here, but he insisted on seeing her, so I told him she was taking a walk by the cliffs." In a single movement Ecru raised up a small book and wiggled it around. "If you don't mind, I was in the middle of my novel, good night." With that he receded into his dorm, slamming the door in Ty's face.

Eve's heart twitched painfully as an endless stream of questions poured into her mind. Sadly, Eve had more than enough answers.

Ty turned to look at both Eve and Petunia sluggishly. The skin of his cheekbones was stretched low in a confused, furious frown. His lips slightly shaking he held up his index finger and tried to convey his emotions. "Wh…Why would… why did-"

"Eve," Petunia's harsh and irate voice chafing Eve's body as she turned to her blue haired partner. "Do you know why Automne came looking for Sienaerde?"

Eve's eyes darted away from Petunia as her burning magenta glare seared her skin. Her eyes hastily flew to Ty who was also cutting into her with his own contemptuous look. Back-and-forth her eyes shot between Ty, Petunia, the floor, the ceiling, the middle distance, and whatever parts of her body she felt were cooking beneath their rage filled glares.

Trembling Eve opened her mouth. "Au-Automne and Sienaerde ar-are dating." Her eyes went between the two as the revelation swept through them.

Petunia clearly, and absolutely frustrated turned away and began to slowly pace. Her fingers, sticking from the ends of her fingerless gloves, clenched and unclenched themselves as she glared down at the floor. Like an animal her back arched up as if she were ready to let out some blood-curdling scream of fury, but she wasn't the one Eve was afraid of.

"Why the hell wouldn't you tell us this?" Ty's voice devoid of any sensitivity as the words slowly came at Eve.

A chill ran through Eve as she tried make eye contact with her livid leader. Crumpling her arms up against herself she hugged Starlight Marionette tightly as she tried to explain. "Au-Au-Automne d-didn't want me to tell you that they were a couple. He said you wouldn't understand."

"Eve, I don't care who Automne's fucking right now." Ty spat, his words slowly stabbing into her. "What I do care about is the fact that Automne is going behind our backs to tip off Sienaerde."

"N-no, it's not like that." Eve's emotions and logic blending into a nightmarish mess as she tried to defend herself and Automne. "Automne said Sienaerde wasn't the mole. He said-"

"If Sienaerde's the mole she has enough knowhow to trick Automne's stupid-ass into believing she's not the mole!" Petunia growled through her teeth as she stomped on the ground violently.

"Oh my dust." Ty hissed in a low voice, his glasses lifted so he could drive his palms into his eyes. "If Automne came through here less than ten minutes ago, then he didn't have enough time to deliver the drive to Ozpin."

Petunia gave an exhausted, ire riddled groan. "Meaning, Automne still has the drive, and if he went to warn Sienaerde-"

"He's likely handing over all the cards we have and putting his own life at risk." Ty fumed as he rushed forward, intentionally pushing Eve aside as he began to sprint down the hall.

Eve gave a short hard gasp as her body unclenched from the tirade. "Automne," She whispered under her breath as she took her weapon in both hands and sprinted after Ty.

"This is just Dust damn perfect." Petunia furiously growled from behind her, the pounding of their feet creating a peace-crushing rhythm.

'_This is all my fault!'_ Eve screamed from the inside as she leaped down the stairwell, her legs and feet hurting as she franticly struggled to descend as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry!" Eve yelled to the world. Her innards squirming and aching as they jumped down the last flight of stairs and pushed their way out a set of double doors onto the campus.

"We'll discuss this later!" Ty shouted back at her.

'_How could I be this stupid? Why didn't I tell them?'_ Cool evening air burning Eve's throat as she panted wildly. Her eyes didn't even have the opportunity to fill with tears for the wind coursing around her whisked them away and dried her eyes. _'I'll never be able to forgive myself if anything happens to him. It will have been all my fault.'_

Air whipping harshly through her hair and lights dimming around her, her running intensified as she and her teammates approached the front of the school. Air passing heavy from their mouths and forming large clouds they frantically ran past the statue resting in front of the school as they made their way towards the cliffs.

'_I should've known he'd do something stupid. He always does something stupid and I'm the one who's supposed to catch it. I'm responsible for this whole mess.'_ The onslaught upon herself only inciting more pain as the three ran down the pathway in front of the school.

'_Please, please,'_ Eve internally pleaded, her hands fastened painfully around her weapon. _'I just want him to be okay.'_

"There they are!" Ty called out as he pulled his sword from his belt and gestured to the very brink of the darkness where the landing pads began to take shape.

At the edge of one of the platforms overlooking Vale Sienaerde stood glaring at them as they approached. Tall and domineering her brown figure stood beside a dark blotch seated before her knees.

Eve gave a horrified gasp, for as they grew closer the blotch took the form of Automne who sat choking and kicking, Sienaerde's rifle being pulled up into his throat. She stared at Automne's face in horror, her strength and her anger fluctuating as she watched him sputter and gasp for air. Cautiously, she, Ty, and Petunia ran to the center of the platform and drew their weapons a meager fifteen feet away.

"Let him go!" Ty demanded at the top of his lungs, his shuriken unfurled and ready to be thrown through the brown haired girl.

Aside from the sound of Automne's choking and his feet scuffling against the ground silence fell between the two parties.

"Drop your weapons." Sienaerde's cold voice barely rising over the sound of Automne's choking.

Slowly her brown eyes crawled over the three of them and when she had confirmed that none had even flinched she tugged upwards on her rifle to illicit louder coughs and wheezy gasps from Automne.

Chills coursed through Eve as she watched spit drip and fly from Automne's mouth while his bloodshot eyes bulged in their sockets. The blade of her weapon visibly jerked and jittered in the low light of night.

"It won't be difficult to choke him to death." Sienaerde calmly continued. "I'd simply have to pull up." Her arms flexed beneath her clothing as she rolled the rifle lower onto his windpipe, allowing some air to flow into his lungs. "Then again, asphyxiation isn't a death sentence. I could always sever his spinal cord, leave him a disabled husk."

Her eyes slowly rose to Eve.

"And if you still feel undaunted, feel like you can rescue him before I am capable of doing any permanent damage, I'd like to remind you of my whereabouts. I am currently standing a step away from a sheer plummet into the bay of Vale. Given we don't fall upon any rocks, a person in his condition would not likely survive the impact. Or, if we'd like to keep it simple, I could break his neck in an instant."

Sienaerde's eyes darted between the three, all weapons shook gently as their wielders stared at her with both contempt and fear.

"I am going to give you five seconds." Sienaerde's voice made Eve quiver fearfully.

Terrified, Eve looked over to Petunia and Ty. Hate dripped from their expressions like the sweat on their faces. It raged in their eyes like an inferno, but paled in comparison to their fear. They tried to hide it behind stiff lips and stern glares, but shaky chins revealed the pure and utter fear hiding in their gaze.

"This is your last chance to drop your weapons." Her eyes rolled across them all one more time before she began. "Five…"

Without hesitation Eve pulled from her attack stance. Cautiously sliding into a crouch she tossed her weapon forward onto the ground with a wooden clatter.

Sienaerde's eyes darted to the other two. "Four…"

"Alright!" Ty called out to her, collapsing his shuriken to its sword mode and tossing it forward onto the ground.

"Leave his dumbass alone." Petunia spat, ejecting a shell from her shotgun before switching the safety on and throwing it down next to Ty's weapon.

Sienaerde's eyes scanned them over again. "Your secondary weapons as well. That means your pistol Inuhoozuki."

Ty gave a heavy exhale as he stuck his right leg forward and crouched down.

"Slowly." Sienaerde ordered, pulling upwards on Automne's throat to create another violent cough.

"Alright," Passivity in Ty's voice as he carefully pulled up his pant leg and removed his pistol from his ankle holster.

Meanwhile, Eve, lightly trembling, reached into her back pocket, pulled out a switchblade, and dropped it onto the ground before them.

Sienaerde's gaze fell upon Petunia. "Do you want me to kill him?" Frustration burning in her voice as she jerked the softly wheezing Automne to the side so he could stare at Petunia with a fish eyed expression.

The sound of Automne's weak, soft, scrapie breathing flowed like glass through their minds as Eve, Petunia, and Ty stared at him.

Petunia ground her teeth together and twisted her face in a furious misery. Dramatically she pulled open one side of her jacket for Sienaerde to see the inside, and with her other hand she reached into an interior pocket and pulled out a grenade. Her gaze glued to the floor she chucked the grenade down and they all listened to it bounce with a metallic clatter and roll around.

Sienaerde looked between the three of them and gave them a confirmatory blink. "Now, here's what's going to happen."

Eve cringed and averted her eyes to the landing pad as she pressed her rifle further into Automne's neck. _'Do what she says. Just do what she says.' _A voice in Eve's head croaking miserably as horrible outcomes budded in her mind like nightshade.

"Howlite, pull out the marionette string from your weapon, use it to tie all of the weapons together, and then slide the bundle across to me."

With no extra coaxing and no eye contact, Eve knelt down on the ground and set about doing her assigned task.

"Once she's done with that, the three of you are going to get in a line, put your hands in the air and then we're going to move clockwise until you're standing exactly where I'm standing." Automne gave a loud wheeze as Sienaerde pulled her rifle into his windpipe. "Let me be absolutely clear here. If any of you stop moving or make any sudden movements, Noire dies. If you use your semblance or it even looks like you're attempting to use your semblance, Noire dies. If I give you an order, you follow it, or Noire dies."

With a quiet sigh Eve secured the knot binding her team's weapons together. Nice and easily Eve rose to a crouch, placed both hands on the bundle of weapons and gave it a strong push in Sienaerde's direction.

Watching it slide awkwardly across the landing pad and up to her Sienaerde stomped on it with her foot and dragged it back in a single motion to send the weapons off the cliff.

Ty and Petunia grit their teeth in fury at the display, but with no options raised their hands in surrender.

Sienaerde's eyes glanced over them and when they arranged themselves into a short line she said, "Slowly, start walking."

Eve, at the head of the line, carefully marched forward. Her hands in the air and her teammates marching behind her, Eve stared across at Sienaerde fearfully.

Staring them down as she sidestepped into position, Automne let out terrible agonized coughs, for rather than let him walk with her she dragged him on his knees. In a futile attempt for traction his knees kicked and rubbed against the landing pad while Sienaerde stared daggers at his teammates. "Space out you three. Don't stay so close together." Sienaerde demanded as Petunia came a bit too close to Eve's heels for her liking.

"This is bullshit." Petunia whispered under her breath as she let Eve gain a bit of distance.

"No talking." Sienaerde's voice cutting down Petunia as if she were a weed. "Stop." Their captor ordered as she stepped into the spot that had once paralleled her Cliffside position. "All of you, turn towards me and back up against the ledge. I want your heels to be at the very edge."

With venomous glares and a resigned sigh from Eve they followed her orders to the letter and put their backs to the cliff.

The wind dangerously tugged at her hair, beckoning her to go over the ledge as she gave Sienaerde a miserable look. Her face and body quivering from the night air, which sapped warmth from her like a leech, she dared to open her mouth. "W-we did what you-"

"Quiet!" Sienaerde said sternly. Hesitant she glanced over the three for a solid, silent minute. Her shoulder length, chocolate brown hair whipped wistfully in the wind as, in a single motion, she removed the barrel of her rifle from beneath Automne's throat, took a couple steps to his right, raised the gun to her shoulder and aimed it at her hostages.

Automne fell forward onto his hands and knees and let out a horrible deep throated cough. "Ghuhuuuuuughkk!" He wheezed as he took in air only to cough it back up painfully.

Eve's eyes held upon Automne fearfully. "Automne, are you-"

"I said quiet, Howlite!" Sienaerde demanded shaking the barrel of her rifle at Eve to assert her dominance.

"Khaaaahakaka!" Automne coughed as he pushed himself off the ground. Wheezing slightly he took a few deep breaths and pushed the goggles on his forehead down over his eyes. Panting heavily he turned in Sienaerde's direction. "You-" He gave off another visceral cough and returned his gaze to the ground. His breathing steadying he spit a glob of mucus and turned back toward Sienaerde. "You didn't have to be so rough!"

"Sorry, I wasn't sure how capable of an actor you were to pull off asphyxia." Sienaerde casually replied stepping over to him and pulling his Escrima sticks from the back of her pants.

"You're one to talk little Ms. Socialite." Automne retorted in a rasp as he took his weapons from the girl and staggered to his feet.

"Oh no," Ty whispered, his voice distant and hopeless.

Eve's mind struggled to fill in exactly what was wrong with the scene before her. It looked like the two were working together and the whole hostage situation had been a ruse, but that wasn't possible. That just didn't make sense.

"You son of a bitch." Resentment heavy in Petunia's voice as Automne pulled his scarf up over his mouth and transformed Twilight Harmony into a pistol.

"Au-Automne," Eve stammered as disbelief weakened into doubt. "Wh-what is this?"

"Eve," Petunia chuckled, her voice slowly devolving into a frustrated cackle. "Don't you get it? Automne and Sienaerde are both working for Arsenic. They're the moles."

"Actually," A coarse voice called out through the darkness. Appearing from the shadows, a man in a brown trench coat wearing a wide brimmed hat could be seen coming down the pathway. "They're more operatives than anything… but yes technically they are moles. But here's the thing Ms. Kapelle," Professor Baula said with an upbeat cadence as he strolled onto the landing pad to stand behind Automne and Sienaerde. "They may work for Arsenic in an administrative sense, but at the end of the day, they work for me."

Chills ran through Eve's body as she attempted to comprehend what was happening.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Ty whined, a scowl stretching across his face as he glared at Automne who was standing by with his head lowered. "You traitorous son of bitch!"

"Oh come now, Mr. Inuhoozuki, Mr. Noire has always known where his loyalties fall. He's been working with me for years." Baula gently placed his hand onto Automne's shoulder and gave him a light rub. "Same with Ms. Tanzerin, isn't that right."

"Yes, High General." Sienaerde replied quickly, her rifle still aimed at their prisoners.

"B-but," Eve stammered, her eyes locked onto Automne "W-what about that night at the club? They attacked you; Arsenic hurt you."

Baula gave a heavy sigh, "After Mr. Noire failed to keep you all in-line at that weather outpost a few months back, we quickly realized we couldn't go by his written reports alone anymore." Baula gave a small chortle. "It's not that we didn't trust him, we just wanted to know everything you were doing with our archives. So, we installed a recording device in his Scroll that night and when he returned to your dorm, he placed it in the perfect little niche. We've been listening in on you ever since that day."

Rational thought quickly began to vacate Eve as reality flipped in her mind. "Wh- Bu-But, Automne… w-why?"

Automne glanced up at Eve from behind his goggles. He calmly took a deep breath and turned back to the floor. "When I was eight years old a King Taijitu killed my mother." Anger dripped from every word as he shook his head miserably. Slowly he cocked his head to the side and stared at his teammates. "You wanna know what I found out when I was thirteen? I found out that the village we had lived in had asked the government right here in Vale for assistance nearly a dozen times." Fire animated his muscles as he raised his pistol to his head and rested the barrel against his temple. "They were denied every time. All because they didn't have enough money to pay for aid."

Eve choked on her reaction as she processed his story. His pain washing into her as she watched him shake his head angrily.

"Are you kidding me?! Get over yourself!" Petunia shouted at him her hands of surrender now balled into fists.

"Quiet, Kapelle, or I'll put a round through you!" Sienaerde exclaimed her rifle shaking slightly as she stood listening to Automne' story.

"You're nothing but a little bitch with mommy issues who's willing to let a terrorist take over Vale just so you can get revenge." Ty scoffed, his scowl grim enough to break a mirror. "You're pathetic."

"Is that what you think this is about? Revenge?!" Automne laughed, the misery in his voice unyielding. "We're working for the people, you idiot!" Automne shouted his pistol pointed at Ty's head. "Thousands of people die outside of the cities every year, and those are just the ones who live near Vale. If Baula comes to power we can help them! We can get rid of this bureaucracy and this-this red-tape and actually do something for the people outside of the kingdoms! We can give them the protection they need, and once Baula creates a military where our Huntsmen and Huntresses are able to assert their power we can launch an assault on the Grimm and wipe them off the face of the planet! No more cowering in fear of those monsters and no more innocent lives lost to those beasts!" The last part of his declaration coming in a whimper as he struggled to suppress tears.

With a sympathetic smile Baula placed his hands on Automne's shoulders. "There, there Automne. No need to feel down, we're working towards something beautiful for everyone."

Eve's eyes swiftly bounced between Baula and Automne. "Automne, don't listen to him!" Eve pleaded, stepping forward. "He's just using you! He's-"

**BANG**

With a clatter the casing from Sienaerde's rifle fell to the ground. Her hands shaking and her eyes budding with tears she shouted, "That is your only warning shot Howlite! Get! Back!"

Baula gave a sigh as he slid his hands off of Automne's shaking shoulders. With disappointed eyes he looked between Ty, Petunia, and Eve and shook his head. "Truly, I wish you children could have seen our logic. Mr. Noire vouched for you on a number of occasions, but I'm afraid you are just too ignorant to see our goal, and too reckless for us to ignore you." He gave another short sigh and pulled back his sleeve to look at a chrome watch. "Either way, our plans have already been set into motion."

Baula gave a small wave to Sienaerde.

With a nod she stepped over to Automne and firmly gripped his pistol by its suppressor.

"What's that supposed to mean? Your master plan about to start any minute?" Petunia mocked, her hands of surrender now turned to bold middle fingers.

"Actually," Baula replied nonchalantly. "It means that, as of five minutes ago, you three have officially been framed for the disappearances of Mr. Noire and Ms. Tanzerin. Two exceptionally smart and decent young adults who had fallen under the impression that you, their fellow students, were illegally documenting other students fighting tactics and distributing the information to criminal organizations. All we've been doing here is ensuring that my computer technician has been able to forge the profiles you found earlier to look like you had produced them." A smirk spread across Baula's face as he placed his hands into his jacket pockets. "I have also personally removed all evidence from your dorm that you three were hunting for Arsenic. All we have to do now is make three pesky teenagers inexplicably disappear. And considering that your charges will range from espionage to premeditated homicide, the authorities will have a pretty good inkling of why you left."

Eve shook with a pained frown, _'This can't be happening. This can't be happening.'_

Sienaerde gave a heavy sigh and released Automne's pistol.

"Again, I really wish you could have seen the logic in our motives, but I can't just allow you to run amuck while we're trying to form an empire. Mr. Noire,"

"Yes, High General?" Automne obediently raised his head and tightly gripped his pistol with both hands.

"This is your mess,-"

'_This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.'_

"-take care of it."

Automne took a few steps forward, ejected his magazine, and replaced it with one from his vest.

'_No, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!' _Air escaping Eve in a stunned panic.

Calmly, Automne walked over to Ty. Standing a good ten feet back he raised his pistol and aimed it at his forehead.

Silence fell across the platform as the two stared each other down.

With all eyes on Automne time on the moonlit platform slowed to a trickle.

With a quivering mouth and burning eyes Ty stared into his partner. "Well, you stupid, traitorous son of a bitch, why don't you do it? Oh that's right, because you're too much of a cowardly, wimp that still smells like his dead mother's cun-"

**Pop**

The gun fired off in two bursts, but Eve only heard the first shot. She didn't mind the sound though, as graphic as it was, the pop of the gun and the clatter of casings against stone. It was all dressing. What touched her was the splatter of crimson red as Ty fell backwards. Two long streaks of blood arching from his face as he fell into darkness.

Tears quickly flooded Eve's eyes as she lost control of her voice. "TYYYY!" She screamed out in horror as she stared at the blood stains signifying where he stood a minute before.

"You bastard!" Petunia screamed at Automne with watery eyes, as he stepped in front of her and raised his weapon. "I never should've trusted you, you low-down lying-"

**Pop Pop Pop**

All three rang out this time.

Blood splattered, thick and red from her neck and face before her body toppled backwards over the ledge.

Eve didn't have the energy to scream Petunia's name. All she could do was weep, her hand pressed to her mouth to suppress what visceral pain she had managed to vocalize.

'_I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Not like this! Not by him!'_ Eve screamed and pleaded on the inside as Automne tentatively walked over to her and stood a solid ten feet back.

Tears flowing from her eyes in thick hot streams, she removed her gloved hand from atop her mouth and lowered it to her waist. Her mouth trembled painfully as air escaped and entered with her sobs.

Slowly, Automne raised his pistol and aimed it at her face.

Eve let out a loud whimper and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

His gun shook wildly in his hands as he tried to center it upon her head. His breathing loud he readjusted his hands to stop the trembling, but to no avail.

Pained, Eve muttered. "I-I-I thought w-wwe were ffriends."

The trembling intensified to the point that he could no longer center his aim.

Sucking in air Eve muttered, "Au-Automne,"

Automne quickly shot a hand to his face and ripped off his goggles, tossing them to the ground. Bloodshot and filled with tears his hazel eyes stared through her with an intense combination of sadness, regret, and frustration.

Eve's whimpering slowed to a halt as she stared into his eyes. Sniveling she muttered again. "Automne,"

"I'm sorry." Automne whispered.

Swiftly he raised his gun and aimed it at her heart.

**Pop**

The first shot stunned her.

Sending an icy burning feeling through her body, her weight immediately abandoned her.

**Pop Pop**

The following shots did little in the way of damage. All Eve felt was iciness as she lost her balance and fell backwards over the cliff and into darkness. Her vision began to fail as everything in the corners of her eyes disappeared while Automne, who stood at the center of her eye atop the cliff, slowly shrunk away.

* * *

**To be continued**

**-CS**


	25. This brings back memories

**3 years ago**

"You fought well."

Automne took in a sharp breath and darted his gaze up off the ground. A single bruise on his left jaw sat like a stain upon his youthful, sweat-drenched face. With a meek expression Automne laid his eyes upon a tall man in a leather trench coat who stood before him like a monument.

The warm sun of late summer, hanging behind the man's broad shoulders, set his black stubble beard ashine as he smiled down at Automne.

Automne cast a quick sweeping glance around himself, scanning the mostly empty wood bleachers to ensure that he wasn't about to respond to someone else's praise. When he confirmed he wasn't, he turned back to the man hesitantly. Nervous he struggled to fold his hands, his thick, oversized leather gloves refusing to work with him. "Th-thank you, sir." Automne's eyes lowered away from the man's face as he spoke.

"It's no trouble." The man replied in a gruff, polite tone. With one hand he brushed his coat open and pulled a handkerchief from within. "Are you training to be a Huntsman, or just a local guard?" He inquired, holding out his handkerchief for Automne.

"Huntsman," The boy sighed as he gently took the man's handkerchief. Lightly dabbing the cloth to his face, he gave a few glances up at the man before turning to the dirt arena behind him. "How much of the fight did you see?"

"The whole thing." The man watched as Automne cringed and hung his head in shame. "Regardless of the outcome, you fought valiantly." The man paused for a few moments examining the young man, his smile unfaltering. "How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen right now, I'll be fourteen in a few months."

The man gave a light hum. Strangely enough, it sounded as if he were satisfied with the response. With a heavily exaggerated gait he sauntered over to the bleachers and sat himself beside Automne. "I've heard it said that this is one of the most defining years for a Huntsman in training. And judging by your attire and the way you fought, this is your first year of training as well, an especially crucial time."

Automne, still sitting with his head hung forward darted his eyes towards the man, his skin lightly crawling beneath his sweat soaked mismatched clothes. His self-esteem made him want to roll up like an armadillo as he ran his eyes over his gaudy clothes. From his autumn camouflage hoodie and hand-me-down gloves he just wanted to cringe for he was certain he looked like a fool. That's probably all he looked like.

"Why do you want to be a Huntsman?" The man asked patiently, watching Automne from the corner of his eyes.

Automne's stomach lurched for a moment. Placing his eyes on the ground he shoved his hands together and took in a shaky breath. "I want to help people." He murmured. Going quiet for a brief moment he stopped to consider his explanation. "And… If I'm a Huntsman I'll be able to help people."

"You want to save lives." For the first time since their encounter, the man averted his gaze from Automne. Breathing a sigh of relief he leaned back in his seat. His eyes directed up into the vast sky he calmly spoke. "I've been around the bend my fair share of times. Seen numerous Huntsmen and Huntresses rise and fall in their efforts to be heroes, in their attempts to honor the ones they love. That said, I feel confident in saying this without watching you fight again: Unless you find a mentor, you won't make it far as a Huntsman." His eyes calmly watched as thin cotton-like clouds drifted by. "You have the spirit, but you're sloppy and your emotions are running hot. Even now I can feel them churning in you."

Automne shook nervously, his stomach sloshing and his mind burning. Anger, remorse, and self-loathing stirred his brain like a thick batter as he tried to determine how much he hated the man for his honesty, but then he continued.

"I'd like to be your mentor." The man warmly offered.

Automne's mouth fell open as he gave a gasp. He swiftly turned to look at the man who was still looking off into the sky. His mouth hanging ajar in disbelief.

"If you haven't already guessed, I myself am a Huntsmen." The man's grin and words piercing Automne and riling his insides. "I work at Beacon Academy as a Professor, so I won't be in this town for long. However, if you say yes to my offer I can make arrangements to stay here for about a month or so. And when Beacon calls me away I can refer you to a colleague who'd be more than willing to train you in my absence. He could even come out here if you're averse to traveling to Vale."

His eyes darting everywhere and his leg bouncing rapidly Automne said, "Y-yes!" He recoiled upon realizing how loud he had just shouted at the man. "I-uh I mean, yes, I'd like you to teach me how to be a Huntsmen."

The man's smile perked into a hearty grin as he gave a soft chuckle and rolled forward into a slouch. With one hand set on his knee he extended the other hand to the boy. "I apologize, but I didn't catch your name earlier. Mine is Baula, but considering you're my pupil now, I'd prefer if you'd call me Professor."

With a weak, but optimistic smile Automne gave Baula his hand and firmly shook it. "Professor, my name is Automne Ombre Noire. T-thank you for taking me on. Thank you."

* * *

**A Few Weeks Later**

"Your mother's death could have been prevented." Baula's voice cutting into Automne's fatigued body like glass.

Drop by drop tears slowly flooded Automne's eyes and scorched them like acid. Short of breath the world around him began to twist, spin and jerk until his knees were left to sway. Overcome he fell to his knees, the dirt jumping around him like smoke as he fell. Kneeling at Baula's feet all he could do was glare at the blurry dirt of the training field.

The full moon hanging in the sky like a lantern Baula stared down at Automne, placid and unmoved. "Hundreds of little cities under Vale's jurisdiction make pleas, just like yours did. The unfortunate truth however is that they don't answer all of them. They weigh the time and the money out and if it doesn't suit their liking they'll do nothing. Just like what they did to your little village."

"Why?" Automne croaked desolately, his gloved hands clawing at the dirt furiously.

"From what I found out, your village was low on funds because they had been forced to renovate buildings vital the survival of your village. Your village was also suffering from a poor harvest, so they were unable to barter with supplies. On top of all that, the bureaucrats running Vale just plain disliked your village and restricted Huntsmen and Huntresses under their jurisdiction from offering their support." Baula's eyes narrowed upon Automne's arched back as the boy's sobbing intensified. "And according to the records I was looking at, your village was denied aid more than a dozen times."

Automne shoved his fingers into the dirt and clawed up a fistful as he held back the urge to scream. All he wanted to do was scream. Furiously scream at the top of his lungs, but he resisted by clenching his teeth and pounding his fists against the ground.

'_WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!'_ He bellowed internally, his teeth ready to break and his fists aching beneath the pressure of the pounding.

"That's just how it is these days." Baula practically reading his mind. "The council members of Vale know nothing of what it's like out here. They've never spent a day outside the walls of Vale." Baula hissed, hate looming in his eyes as he stared down through Automne. "Most have never even seen a single creature of Grimm."

'_What?! Those cowards!'_ Automne thought as Baula's words sank into him. _'Why are they in charge?! Why aren't they helping us?!'_ Automne's fingers clawed at the dirt again as he tried to suck up air. 'This is their fault!' Tears trickled from Automne's face and landed in the dirt with a small patter. 'They're the reason she died!'

"They're unfit to run Vale." Baula said, a morose tinge in his voice. "For decades their poor leadership has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. People like your mother." Baula calmly watched Automne jerk in pain and burst into louder sobs. Stretching his face into a concerned frown he knelt down before Automne.

With a sorrow-filled sigh he placed a hand on Automne's shoulder. "Your mother was taken far too soon, Automne, but I can tell she loved you and cared for you tenderly. Your mother raised you into a strong, caring young man. She raised you into the type of man who can change the world. Improve it for everyone around him. "

Automne's sobbing began to weaken as Baula went on.

Baula paused for a moment, ensuring to himself that Automne was listening. "The council of Vale is a blight upon the people, Automne. If they can be removed Vale can be changed for the better, these cities out here can be liberated from the unending fear of death, and once the Council is gone something can be done about the Grimm. With all the red tape and bureaucracy out of the way we can focus on destroying them. We can amass an army to remove those monsters. No longer will people live in fear of those demons with Huntsmen like yourself leading the charge against them."

Automne's sobbing weakened to a soft cry, his ragged breathing shaken by anger and misery.

"Automne, with your help we can make a change." Baula gently pleaded. "We can ensure that the Grimm never hurt another human being again. Never break apart another family."

Shaking with a mixture of rage and sadness Automne slowly raised his gaze up to Baula. There was a brief pause as he stared up at him, his lips quivering and his face a weak red. Tears poured from Automne's eyes with renewed energy as the man's caring eyes caressed him.

"Automne," Baula's voice gentle upon the boy, his hand lightly massaging his shoulder. "I have plans to abolish the Council, but I can't do this alone. Over time I have found a few like-minded individuals to stand with me, but we need someone like you." Baula slid his face from the boy's shoulder to the back of his head. "Automne, become a servant of the people. Honor those who have lost their lives due to the Council's carelessness. Help us save lives."

Automne turned back to the ground. His tears blinding him and his spirit burning he sucked in air through chokes. Grinding the dirt between his fingers he steadied his breath just enough to whimper. "I want to help you."

* * *

**About a year and a half later**

"I choose Automne Ombre Noire." Baula said dryly as he tossed a manila folder adorned with Automne's picture to the center of a finely carved, bocote-wood dining table.

A hand darted to Arsenic's mouth as he struggled to refrain from spitting out his wine, while Rouge abruptly paused in the middle of cutting her filet mignon.

With an absolutely humorless expression Rouge glared across at Baula. "I'm sorry, did you just suggest that we send Noire into Beacon?" Her voice lightly ringing throughout her lavish wood and gold dining room.

With a heavy sigh Baula leaned back in his cushy dining chair and looked between the two. With both sets of eyes digging into him he propped his elbow on the arm of his chair and tiredly asked. "What's the issue?"

Rouge gave a resigned sigh. "So you're serious." She mumbled just loud enough for Baula to hear as she reached across the table for the wine bottle.

"I really shouldn't be surprised." Arsenic said with a sardonic frown. He quickly pulled his cloth napkin down over his mouth a couple of times to clean himself, and inadvertently ruffle his thin mustache, before tossing the cloth down onto his half-eaten meal.

Baula gave a small sigh and glared between the two of them. "Noire is the ideal operative to be placed inside of Beacon. Slightly above average intelligence, he blends well with a crowd, he follows orders-"

"He's also the weakest operative we have." Arsenic interrupted, leaning forward to place his elbows on the table. "Not to mention the fact that he's downright awkward in social-"

"He's of average strength for his age – slightly above the standard for a first year student – and his awkwardness makes him the perfect person for the job." Baula snapped. "He acts his age. He's genuine and sincere, but better yet, he's obedient."

"Tänzerin is also obedient, but I don't hear either of you pushing to have her apply." Arsenic retorted. His short, black ponytail bobbing slightly as he rapidly looked between Baula and Rouge. "She's the perfect operative. She's intelligent, she's an excellent fighter, and she is absolutely loyal."

Baula paused to stare at Arsenic with a bit of skepticism before he lackadaisically turned to Rouge. "At my request you had your girls monitor both Noire and Tänzerin whenever they left our facilities. So, please remind him of what happened to our 'perfect operative' when we tasked her with going out to buy clothes for herself."

Rouge's eyes never left her plate as she carefully diced her meal into small squares. "Sienaerde Gewehr-Tänzerin, age 14 at the time, was tasked with going to a shopping center in downtown Vale to purchase herself new clothes. Roughly ten minutes after arriving at the shopping center my girls reported that Tänzerin had nearly had a mental breakdown in the middle of a store." With a soft exhale Rouge impaled her fork into a piece of meat. "She then locked herself in a bathroom for an hour before emerging, buying a variety of mismatched clothes that didn't fit her, before proceeding to walk back to base." With a small frown she lifted her meal into her mouth.

The room went silent for a moment while Baula glared down a stifled Arsenic.

"Tänzerin is asocial and has serious PTSD, which makes her a liability." Baula's gruff voice cutting into Arsenic like razor-wire.

"That took place over a year ago." Arsenic said. "Her mental state has improved significantly. She hasn't had a breakdown since then."

"The fact remains that Tänzerin is incapable of blending into a social environment with ease. She'd stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of Beacon." Baula stressed. Leaning forward he set his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers together. "Noire makes up for her inferiority with his authenticity. He is capable of blending in and forming genuine bonds with people."

"We're not sending him to Beacon so he can make friends." Arsenic snapped, leaning forward to stare down Baula.

"He'll be there to collect intel, but the less heads he turns while he's there the less we'll have to worry about him being caught." Baula's glare burning into his associate as he refused to be dogged down.

"The real issue, that neither of you are addressing, is if we can trust Noire." Rouge's voice rising in an attempt to break up the pair's debate.

A sudden, short guffaw rose from Baula as he turned to glare down Rouge. "I suppose we should be placing our trust in you and your mythical deity of a technician? I'm certain they could pass into Beacon with no issue."

"My technician will not be setting foot in Beacon!" Rouge's aloof composure evaporating as she drove her polished fingernail into the laminated surface of the table. "The question is if we can trust Noire. He's selfless and driven by his emotions; I don't like him."

A calmness fell over Baula as he reclined back in his chair. "Rouge, we need not worry about that. Just like Tänzerin, I chose Noire by hand and ever since the day we met I've had him under my thumb." Baula gave the woman a warm smile and contently set his hands in his lap. "He's so naïve that if we told him his suicide would benefit us he'd put a bullet through his head in a heartbeat."

"But what if he turns on us? Has a sudden change of heart and threatens to turn us over to the authorities?" Rouge pressed.

"He won't." Baula replied, his smile etching itself into the minds of his fellow insurgents. "As bold and as heartfelt as Noire can be; he's a naïve child. With little coaxing he has fallen under the impression that our coup will redeem him for some childish delusion he holds. Without even knowing what we seek he has whole-heartedly embraced our cause, and in his broken mental state convinced himself that our victories are his victories. All we need to do is keep him broken; keep fresh in his mind that we can and will right the wrongs of the world."

"What if someone fixes him?" Arsenic's voice slightly distant as he stared down at his gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Tries to break him from his beliefs?"

Baula stopped to give Arsenic an amused smile. "Then he will have outlived his usefulness." Baula's smile twitched as a thought crossed his mind. "I suppose the same goes for Tänzerin, but considering that fact that she has more psychological issues than a phone-book has names, we can expect a fair amount of mileage from her."

With a satisfied smile resting happily upon Baula's face he scooted his chair backwards and rose to his feet. "All things considered, we will be applying both Noire and Tänzerin for enrollment at Beacon. And, since Ozpin adores sob stories, I have no doubt that both will be accepted without any scrutiny." Pulling back his sleeve he paused to stare at his watch for a moment before turning back to his seated compatriots. "I'll contact you two in a couple of days. Rouge, as usual oversee the collection of information from our favorite politicians. If you find anything we can exploit report it to me through the usual channels. Arsenic, ensure Noire and Tanzerin remain on their usual training regiments."

"My men have been getting restless. They want to know why they're fighting in a street war." Arsenic said, his impatience visible in his expression.

"Then I'll just have to pay them a visit in the next few days." Baula said cheerfully, his eyes now fixated on his watch. "They always throw a party for me whenever I'm in the neighborhood. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

"Goodnight, High General." Rouge breathed without a mote of enthusiasm. Picking up her silver cutlery she calmly returned to the act of skewering food and lifting into her mouth. Her ruby eyes absentmindedly dancing atop her plate for a minute before she glanced over at her remaining dining partner. "You shouldn't get attached to them; they're the very definition of expendable."

Arsenic breathed a tired sigh and slouched forward in his chair. Roughly running his fingers over his narrow eyes he responded with a tired, "I know. Tänzerin was starting to grow on me though. It's a shame to see two years of training get thrown away."

"Yes, yes lost time and all that, now finish your meal." Rouge snapped, gesturing her knife toward his half eaten sandwich. "My chef did not go to a culinary school so he could make you some middle-schooler's idea of a five star meal."

"My appetite is gone." Arsenic gave another sigh and set his hands on his knees with a loud slap. "Do you trust Noire? Even after what Baula said."

The sound of Rouge's silverware dinging against glass stopped. Her eyes fixed on her plate she leaned back and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No… No, I don't."

* * *

**Present Day**

Warm mint flavored breath passed from Automne's mouth in short shaky intervals. His heart energetically pounded against his chest as he tried his best to give off a relaxed façade. Sitting up in a large, comfy bed his back practically sank into the large soft pillows as he – for the hundredth time – ran his eyes over the long smooth legs arched above his lap.

'_Just be cool, this is going great… I think.'_ Automne thought to himself as he ran his eyes up the lightly-tanned, flawless thighs of the girl before him. _'You wanted to hang out with her, and she seemed happy to see you again… I think.'_ His eyes now caressing the girl's short, seafoam booty shorts. Saliva starting to amass in his painfully dry mouth Automne gulped it down, and ran his eyes up the girl's hips and over his own black hoodie which Pumpkin wore with proud smirk.

A small intoxicated smile lifted Automne's lips as soft electronic music washed through his ears. With synthetic drum machines and violins the music wafted through the air like a perfume. Automne could even feel his pulse start to synchronize with rhythm of the bass, or that was the case until Pumpkin rolled her jewel like eyes from her Scroll to his face.

"What do you think?" She asked with a seductive smile, her thumb swiping over her Scroll as the synthetic rhythms softened and ceased.

"I liked it." Automne replied with a weak, earnest smile.

"You're not just saying that, right?" Pumpkin's playful inflection and warm, pearly white smile revealing to Automne that he wasn't doing nearly as bad as he thought he was.

"No, I liked it; it's really good." Automne insisted, struggling to be sincere and light-hearted at the same time. "You said you've made more son- er, smusic."

'_Smusic?! What the hell is smusic?!'_

"Yes, I have a lot more smusic." Her response setting Automne's ears on fire. "I make all my smusic back at my apartment. The acoustics are great for making smusic." She teased with a cruel little smirk.

'_She's making fun of you…'_

"That's cool to hear." Automne's spirits sinking a bit as the orange haired girl toyed with him.

"You're cute when you blush." Pumpkin giggled, her eyes devouring Automne's body.

A gentle ping rang through Automne's head disturbing thoughts and whipping away the dust that had gathered around them. Slowly the dust settled and the neglected thoughts began to rise, but then Pumpkin moved her knees to either side of his hips and rose to straddle him. This naturally drove blood from his brain and into regions of the crotch variety.

A large smile twisted the corners of Pumpkins pink lips upwards as she laid her wrists upon his shoulders. "Your hair is soft." She whispered as her thin fingers ran through his dirty-blonde hair. Slowly she lowered herself onto him, her chest pressing against Automne's through his loose, baggy hoodie. With an amused purr she leaned back to look him in the eyes. "I'm never going to give you this hoodie back."

With his heart pounding against him at an insane speed and with his lungs taking in a lot less air then he needed Automne drunkenly whispered. "I… am completely okay with this." Glee coursed through Automne as the girl gave off a seductive, reassuring giggle. With heightened spirits and renewed energy Automne carefully lifted his hands through the thick, warm air and placed them on Pumpkin's hips.

"What are you waiting for?" Her whisper almost inaudible.

Automne's eyes widened in surprise as he turned his focus back to her emeralds.

Without wasting another second Automne shot a hand up to her back, and as he pulled her in to seal their lips she in turn jerked him forward with an equal lust.

Their breath colliding as their mouths met Automne's body disappeared beneath ecstasy. His lungs and his desire for oxygen vanished as the sweet and spicy taste of Pumpkin's lips set his set his tongue on fire. So soft and so succulent her lips made his mind go numb. And when she finally pushed her tongue into his mouth he couldn't help but moan lightly, his hands grasping her clothes and her rear hungrily. An exhilarated moan rolled from her body as she retracted, pulling her lips away from his with a wet pop.

Setting her palms on his chest, Pumpkin sat back in his lap breathing heavily. Sparks of electricity danced in her eyes as she moaned, "You're a good kisser." Her hands tugged at his shirt, pulling and twisting the fabric as she stared into his hazel eyes. "And here I thought you were inexperienced."

"I- I actual- Uhmm-" Automne breathlessly started, eager to correct her before he quickly realized this was one statement better left vague.

An amused giggle rolled from Pumpkin as she loosened her grip upon his shirt. "I guess some people are just naturals." She purred enthusiastically, slowly leaning back in. "I wonder if anything else comes natural."

With that Pumpkin pressed her lips back to his, but this time Automne's mind wandered.

'_Her giggle,'_ he thought, their lips smacking together rapturously. _'The way she giggles…'_ Pumpkin's hips began to grind back and forth in an effort to make up for their weakening kiss. _'She sounds like Eve.'_

With a quiet dissatisfied pop their lips came apart. Pumpkin, still looming over Automne, brushed her short orange locks from her face to reveal concerned eyes. With a curious, worried smile she said, "What's wrong?"

Mixtures of guilt and sorrow forbade Automne from giving Pumpkin a reassuring smile. And before he could respond with a comforting lie his Scroll vibrated loudly. Automne and Pumpkin awkwardly ran their eyes over each other for a few seconds before Automne decided to address the elephant that had just settled itself in the room. "That's- uhm, that's probably… important."

"Yeah, it's probably your boss." Pumpkin said. Her energy clearly dissipating as she dismounted and rolled to the edge of the bed.

With a disappointed exhale Automne plunged his hand into his cargo pants and pulled out his Scroll. Giving the screen life a single message from Sienaerde appeared and laid itself out for him.

"Automne," The message read. "Baula wants to speak to both of us in our room. Return to base ASAP."

Automne slowly raised his gaze to Pumpkin, who was now seated at the edge of the bed, staring at her own Scroll. Breathing a shallow sigh Automne rapidly typed "Copy, eta 30", sent the message, and then carelessly pocketed his Scroll. A somber look on his face he crawled over to the edge of the bed and sat himself beside Pumpkin. "I have to go." He mumbled, struggling to look her in the face.

"It's fine," Her voice clearly hinting that it wasn't fine. "My break ends in about twenty minutes anyways. I'm not sure how much fun we could have even had in that time." A small smile emerging on her face as she brushed her bare foot against Automne's yellow-and-black sock.

"I really wish I could've stayed longer." Sincerity overwhelming Automne's voice.

"Well, if that's the case, how about we do this again?" A bit of energy returning to Pumpkin she suddenly turned and laid her thighs across Automne's lap. And by throwing one arm around his shoulder and scooting in closer, she pushed him into wrapping his arm around her waist to support her. "I'm free this Thursday. We can meet up somewhere, grab a bite, and then, if you're good, we can head back to my place. I really want to show you where I make the smusic happen."

A broad grin crossed Automne's lips as she gently kissed his cheek. "I'm never going to live that down am I?"

"All signs say; 'no'." Pumpkin responded with a cheeky little grin. Spinning on his knee as if he were a barstool, she turned forward and hopped onto the warm dark-wood floor. "Now get out, you have places to be." She lightheartedly demanded, turning away from him and pulling her Scroll from her new hoodie's kangaroo pocket.

Automne's grin still burning bright he calmly rose from the bed and sauntered over to the girl. Purposefully pushing her back against him he wrapped one arm around her waist and delicately took her hand. With her bemused assistance he lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a single kiss.

Pumpkin let out another giggle. "You're sweet… now seriously, get out." She merrily demanded turning to give him a light shove.

"Alright, I'm going!" Automne said with a grin as he made his way for the door, stopping only to pick up his shoes.

"I'll text you once my shift's over." Pumpkin said, stating it as if he should have already known it.

"Don't hate me if I don't reply."

"Then you better reply." Pumpkin jabbed before he slipped out the door.

The very instant he stepped out past the threshold and closed the door he let out a sigh that could've blown away small car.

'_OH MY DUST THAT WENT SO WELL!'_ He internally sighed in a manner that just happened to be a shout. _'I WINGED LIKE NINETY PERCENT OF THAT, OH MY DUST.'_ His breathing becoming heavier as he pressed his back against the black and red pinstriped walls of The Oasis. _'Oh my Dust, like thing with the hand at the end! What even was that?! Why did I do that?! I think she liked it! She said I was sweet. Do girls like sweet? She's like really pretty and cool so she probably deals with douchebags or something. She probably likes sweet. Not sure how sweet though. I mean, she did giggle and… and she giggled… when she giggles she sounds like Eve…'_

Automne breathing slowed to a weak flow as Eve walked through his mind. Her long dark hair wistfully wavering upon the autumn breeze. Her warm smile and her soft voice. Her moon white eyes.

'… _I gotta move on.'_ Automne said to himself, pushing off the wall and starting down the hall. _'I shouldn't have gotten that close to them…'_

Images of the night on the landing pad drove air out of his lungs and made him choke up.

'_It's okay.'_ He told himself, Eve's miserable face burned into his eyes. _'It's okay… they're fine… I'm sure they're fine.'_ His head hanging as he shuffled down the hall of the VIP lounge.

* * *

**Hey every body,**** I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the support and if you haven't already favorite, follow, recommend, and review (with discretion) if you want to. I love y'all and love to hear from you ( I especially enjoyed the reviews for that last chapter *Teeheehee*) so please don't be shy review and PM.**

**I know it's been a while since I've given anyone a shout-out, but this time is special. I've been in contact with NinjaMoleRat recently and he has a RWBY based OC story of his own titled "BEAM Vol1". Unfortunately his story isn't exactly good, but he wants to improve the story and his skills as a writer. So, if you have the time please visit his story, give it a read, and help him out by leaving a fair, honest review. He (Or She I'm not exactly certain) is a nice person and I really want to see the community help a fellow writer improve.**

**Anyways, that's all from me. **

**Stay tuned, argue over who Automne's real girlfriend is until you go crazy, and then let it all out in the reviews. Until next time, peace out.**

**-CS**


	26. You've been through a lot

Eve's eyelids, tightly shut, shuddered and twitched like moth's wings until they slowly began to part. Her skin a pale alabaster-white, she peered out upon the world and was immediately overcome by fatigue.

Her breathing quickly became sporadic as flat pain fluctuated throughout her sore, sweaty body. Tensing her achy muscles, Eve realized that her body was being weighed down by thick, slightly damp bedsheets, while her head was held aloft by a single, plush pillow.

Questions darted to the forefront of her mind as she lie there, icy blood pumping through her veins.

'_It felt so real… Was… was it just a dream?'_ Her mind gasped, her eyes struggling to adjust to the dim light around her.

She was lying in near darkness, which was further obscured by the blurriness in her tired eyes. Soon enough though her eyes did adjust and her periwinkle spheres met a stucco ceiling.

Eve sucked in air as a chill ran over her skin. She didn't recognize the ceiling. This wasn't a room she knew.

Restlessly she began to wriggle to a seated position where she could cast her eyes about.

Still disoriented, her eyes flew over the foreign queen sized bed she was resting in and over to a sliding closet on her right. With her heavy breathing drawing sharp jabs of pain to her chest, she hastily threw her eyes to her left.

Eve held her breath; she was shocked. "Petunia," she croaked, her throat stinging with pain.

"You've been out for a couple days." Petunia said, her voice vacant.

Eve was struggling to get a clear look at her under the nonexistent lighting of the room, but something about the way her form was slumped over made Eve uncomfortable.

Wearing a plain gray hoodie and blue jeans she sat in a white wooden chair staring at the floor. Her tongue was clearly squirming in her mouth and her cheeks grew and shrank as she sat staring at the floor. "You were unconscious when you hit the water; we almost thought you went into a coma."

Eve shrank slightly. Pain coursed through her chest as her suspicions were confirmed. Her cold fingers grasping the covers she dropped her eyes back to the bedspread. "Where are we?" Her eyes losing themselves in the floral pattern of the bedspread.

There was a short, cold silence as Eve waited for a response.

"Did you know?" Petunia's voice cracking dryly as she sat there, still staring at floor.

A second pain coursed through Eve. She quickly whipped her gaze back to Petunia and looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

Petunia shut her eyes, grit her teeth, and calmly stooped down to the floor. When she rose back into her seat she was firmly grasping her shotgun. Placing the weapon across her lap she made it clear that she was no longer herself. "You were with him almost every day; you were closer to him than anyone else. Did you know?"

Pain began to well in Eve's mind.

"No." She whimpered.

"Don't lie, you knew more about him than both me and Tyrian." The metal of Petunia's weapon lightly rattling beneath her crushing grip. "You never once suspected him?" Her question coming across in a shaky whisper.

Eve fell silent as Petunia's words sunk into her like knives.

"No." Harsh pain coursed into her eyes and came out in the form of tears, which quickly trickled down her cheeks. "I never suspected him of anything."

Petunia's scared eyes fell upon Eve and then softened into an infuriated glare as she watched her cry. A cold scowl on her face Petunia leaned forward in her chair. "Don't make any loud noise; the neighbors don't know we're here."

Eve's crying weakened for a moment. "Where are we? How did we get here?"

"This is my place." Petunia softly replied. "After the traitor shot us off that fucking cliff we managed to swim to shore. My place wasn't too far from the coast, so we came here." Petunia's eyes hatefully dug into a rusted patch on her gun.

"How did we survive?" Eve croaked, barely holding back her misery. "Aut…He… he shot us."

Petunia gave a small sigh. "The traitor used the wrong ammo… he must've mixed up his magazines." Getting to her feet she made for the door directly behind her. "Bathroom is the first door on the left; Kitchen and living room are out on the right. Don't go in the room at the end of the hall, and don't leave the apartment without a disguise. Every cop in Vale is looking for us." Petunia pulled the door open and took her first step out.

"Petunia," Eve whimpered, stopping Petunia in her tracks.

Slowly, Petunia turned to look back at her. Her expression devoid of everything that reminded Eve of Petunia.

"I should've known… I should've known him better."

There was silence.

"None of us knew him, not even you." Petunia's voice dry as she stepped out and gently closed the door.

Air burst out of Eve's mouth in a sob. A hand darting to her mouth she slowly laid back in the soft bed and let tears pour from her eyes.

'_This is my fault…'_ Another soft sob burst from Eve's mouth. Her eyes plastered to the stucco ceiling she slowly began to question everything she thought she knew about Automne. Her body aching and trembling beneath soft sheets.

* * *

Petunia let out a soft sigh. Her back pressed up against the main bedroom door she could just make out Eve's faint sobs. Hastily sucking back wet mucus she ran her hand over her mouth. _'Damnit!'_ She thought, pain rolling out from a round bruise on the right side of her face.

There wasn't just one bruise though; there were three bruises. Each with its own epicenter that incrementally trailed up from her throat to her forehead. The darkest of purples and blues had come to each and were now fading, but each one burned like she had just received them moments ago.

Pain still rolling out of her bruises she gave a heavy sigh and took a step forward in the short hallway. After a couple paces she took a sharp right and stepped out into a charming, little living room. "She's awake." Petunia's voice aimed at Ty.

Sitting upon Petunia's spring green couch, blankets and pillows strewn across it, he shot a tired glare towards her. "Her fever die down?" A couple faint bruises visible upon his forehead.

"I didn't check." Petunia replied, walking over to a green armchair and planting herself into it. Tossing her shotgun to the carpet she pressed her fingers into her eyes. "I asked her if she knew."

Ty moved his eyes to the hallway. "What'd she say?"

"She said she didn't know."

"Do you believe her?" His question a hoarse whisper.

Petunia let her fingers fall off her face as she let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know… I think we can believe her, but for all we know she could be working with him."

Ty gave a soft sigh, his eyes still fixed on the hallway's entrance. "Do you want me to go talk to her?"

"No, she needs some privacy right now."

There was a brief silence between the two.

Her mind wandering aimlessly, Petunia's tired eye rested upon the dusty carpet while Ty's gaze flipped back to her.

"You all right?"

"Question of the fuckin' year right there." Petunia snapped softly, life and energy dying at the back of her eyes. Sniffing the stale apartment air – which faintly stank of mold and potpourri – Petunia slowly shifted her gaze back to Ty. She scanned him for a moment, her magenta tinted windows picking him and his cheap, unkempt outfit apart. "I'm swell man, really fuckin' great."

Pushing aside some blankets Ty slid across the couch with a sympathetic frown on his face. "Look, I know we just went through a lot, but right now we need to focus-"

"Can we not talk about this for like five Dust-damn minutes?" Petunia said, her eyes shutting tightly and her hand giving a fatigued, dismissive wave. She also made to run her other hand over her face, but before her palm met her sensitive skin, she instead opted to curl it into a fist.

"Petunia, we can't just sit back because Automne betr-"

"Can you not fucking say his name?" Petunia's eyes jolting open at the mention of Automne. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Baula is planning a coup!" Ty hissed, his voice threatening to leave a whisper.

A furious scowl had grown across Ty's face. It was clear to Petunia that he was exercising a great deal of patience with her. Unlike Petunia Ty did not appear as a shadow of himself, but rather an accumulation of all his worst traits. From his scalding stare and gritted teeth to the way he was barely suppressing his emotions, he had become quite the unpleasant sight.

"Baula and his lackeys think we're dead. We can't just lay back and stew in our mental shit while they carve up Vale and take it for themselves." Ty's chest rising and falling beneath his thick, gray trench coat. Growing intolerant, he shot his eyes towards Petunia's shotgun. Looking back to her he pointed at the weapon. In a shaky, restrained whisper he said, "I did not spend five hours yesterday looking for our weapons in the Bay of Vale looking just so we could give up now."

"Tyrian, I said I don't want to talk about this." Petunia insisted, her expression becoming increasingly uneasy

"Yeah, instead let's sit back and talk about our feelings. Petunia, we have a job to do, so put aside whatever mental hang-ups you have and get back on those servers and find us something useful we can use."

"I told you already, they were feeding us bread-crumbs. They handed us all of that information." Petunia said, her full attention aimed at Ty.

"Then look somewhere else." Ty quietly demanded. "You found multiple properties across the city that belonged to them. Hack them and try finding out if they're at those locations."

"If they have half the security the main servers did they'll track us right back here."

"Because hiding in this stupid little apartment is more important than stopping a terrorist."

"We wouldn't be hiding if you knew shit about your damn partner, Tyrian!" Petunia lashed out, her volume almost rising past a normal indoor speaking voice.

The only thing that followed for a short period was breathing. Loudly Petunia drew in air, drowning out the sound of Ty's uneven breathing. Her chest expanding only to collapse back in towards her. With pursed lips and furious, watery eyes she glared at Ty spitefully.

"I'm going out." Ty mumbled, rising from the couch. With his back to Petunia he stopped at the far side of the couch and picked up his weapon. Tucking it away in his long jacket he made for the door. "I'm going to look for leads."

Still struggling to steady her breathing Petunia snapped at the boy. "If you get in trouble, don't even think about coming back here."

At that Ty silently slipped out the front door.

Slowly air passed from Petunia's mouth in choppy little pants. The moments passing she found her stomach twisted into a ball of frustration while her brain teetered about wildly. Scooting back in her armchair, so she could be welcomed in its embrace, she pressed both palms to her eyes. Grinding her teeth through dull, constant pain she grinded her palms against her eyes furiously.

Lurching forward, her palms still blinding her from the world, she took in a small breath and let out a noise one could mistake for a sob.

* * *

Automne briskly walked down a drab office like hallway. His hands hurriedly straightening out his clothes as he strode towards a single white metal door. Drawing in a calming breath he stepped up to the matte entryway and lightly knocked on the door to his room.

"Enter," A familiar female voice, which one could mistake as flinty and unwelcoming, said from within.

'_Doesn't get much homier than this.'_ Automne's brain casually remarked. Unfortunately though, this quick, flippant remark threw his entire straight-faced demeanor out of his ear like a candy-bar wrapper, forcing him to redo his entire mental preparation ritual. After all, if experience had taught him anything, it was that he couldn't face Baula without some mental fortification.

'_It's fine; he probably just wants to go over plans, or something like that. You're not in any trouble.'_

"I said, enter." The same mistakably rigid voice on the other side of the door said, losing a clear amount of its warmth.

Automne gave a small sigh and rolled his eyes. _'Some things just don't change. I mean honestly, you can practically feel the love.'_ Automne said internally. Taking the silver doorknob in hand he pushed in the door.

His eyes immediately rose to the center of the plain, white, windowless room. On both the left and the right sides of the room, matching twin sized beds sat pushed against the walls. At the end of the bed's gray metal frames, metal militaristic footlockers sat with the names "Noire" and "Tänzerin" scrawled onto them. All this, including the thin, pasty white office walls, produced a strange aura beneath the bright fluorescent office lights. Even the only brightly colored objects in the room– the olive wool military blankets tucked tightly into the beds – glowed a sickening green beneath the droning fluorescent bulbs.

After years of being in this room though none of those things harmed Automne in this moment. At the moment though, something was disturbed within the room, which is to say something foreign was added. Slightly off to the right, on Sienaerde's half of the room, a folding table had been erected. There were even a couple of folding chairs on either of its long sides. And at the table's closest corner stood Sienaerde.

"Good evening, Automne." Sienaerde said, her countenance confusing Automne.

"Good evening…" Automne somewhat lost in her appearance, or rather her presence; he wasn't all too sure. Her shoulders were slackened, most of the buttons of her jacket were undone, and her usually void-like eyes were holding a pleasant energy. Even her aura felt strangely soft to Automne, but aside from all that there was still something alluding his comprehension.

"I apologize for deceiving you, but Baula did not want to speak with us." With a small exhale Sienaerde stepped to the side to reveal a fancy, short bottle of rum resting on the table along-side a couple of small drinking glasses. She dropped her eyes to the floor and allowed Automne to examine the table and everything it implied. "Over the past year I have been deliberately cruel towards you, especially after you and I arrived at Beacon. And I realize it may be in poor taste to celebrate before we have sealed our victory, but despite the difficulties the two of us successfully completed our roles. So, I feel apologies and a celebration are in order."

Automne stared at the gold bottle of rum resting upon the table. With a disappointed expression he looked at Sienaerde. "So, I take it you're giving up on your sobriety."

A bit of liveliness vanished from Sienaerde. She turned to glare at the bottle herself, shame and a bit of fear flashing in her eyes. "I am not forgoing my sobriety as a means to dull my senses. I have abandoned those habits indefinitely." Energy flickered in her eyes as she hesitantly averted her gaze from her old enemy. Slowly, she made her way to the right side of the table, confidence in her stride.

"It was a self-induced sickness that I am now cured of." Completely unbuttoning her jacket she gracefully slid it off her lean frame to reveal her plain, off-white button up. Pulling her chair towards her with her foot, she draped her jacket over the back and seated herself. "That said," A weak smile on her face. "I do not see an indelible issue arising from a simple indulgence."

"You know I'm not okay with that answer." Automne now sullen and serious as he stared her down with unfaltering worry.

Sienaerde raised her gaze to meet his and recoiled a bit. She lowered her gaze to the table and lightly scratched at its plastic surface. "I've been sleeping easier lately. And the nightmares are far less frequent. I finally feel like I'm in control again… I don't want to feel numb anymore… and if anything, this only stands to reinforce that." Tentatively, Sienaerde reached over to the bottle and took it by its neck. She looked it over, a slight somberness distant in her optimistic eyes. "I never cared for the taste of alcohol; I didn't even particularly like the feelings that came along with it. This occasion however… It feels appropriate."

Sienaerde glanced up at Automne, who still stood back with his arms crossed and doubt still lingering upon his face. Affected, Sienaerde lowered her gaze back to the bottle and gave a saddened sigh. "I never did try it without the… pills… for all I know, it tastes even worse than I remember." An amused smile flashed upon Sienaerde's face. Still holding the bottle by the neck, she firmly planted it on the other side of the table.

"As self-assured as I am," Sienaerde sighed as she released the neck of the bottle. "I'll leave this up to you." Laying her hand back in her lap she turned to Automne and gave him a genuine smile. "You're the one who helped me get sober in the first place, I'll let you decide if I'm… ready."

Automne gave a heavy sigh, his eyes flitting between Sienaerde and the bottle of alcohol. His eyes darted between his partner and the poison a dozen times; attacking the issue with multiple lines of logic and emotion until he was able to muster some semblance of a conclusion. With one last unsure breath he unfolded his arms and walked over to the table. Taking the bottle by its neck he slowly eased himself into his chair. "Asking someone for permission to relapse is honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of." Automne scoffed, his eyes carefully examining the bottle and all its intricacies.

"I'm not asking for permission, I just trust your judgement." Sienaerde calmly replied, watching Automne all the while.

A drop of warmth flowed through Automne, making it difficult for him to not smile. "Of course you do, but seriously where did you even get this?" Automne said, a bemused smile on his face as he examined the underside of the bottle.

"It was a gift."

"Ah, of course," Automne quipped, nodding his head as if the idea of gifting rum to an alcoholic was a good idea. "Should've been my first guess. What else did they give you, a hip flask and your own distillery?"

"Sadly, no." She replied, a joyful smirk on her lips. Casually she raised her hands to her chocolate hair and with a couple simple moves undid the tight bun holding back her brown locks.

Automne, who was occasionally shifting his gaze between the bottle and Sienaerde, stopped abruptly to look at her in surprise. A smile worked its way onto his face as he watched her push her bangs to the sides and gracefully tuck hair behind her ear. "Huh." Automne said a bit too loud to go unnoticed.

"What is it?"

"I dunno, it's just… You've been a lot less acerbic lately and a lot more… congenial." Automne said uncertainly, a warm smile now resting on his face as he looked her over again.

Slightly taken aback Sienaerde let out a soft chuckle. "You've been using that dictionary I gave you."

"It was a birthday present," Automne shrugged, setting the bottle on the table. "I wasn't just going to let it gather dust."

Inching forward in her seat Sienaerde placed her fingers around the rim of her unused glass and began to roll it around on its base. "I'm sorry about how I delivered it to you. I could have found a more opportune time."

"It's alright," Automne said, smiling hard. "I was swamped with work that day. It was a nice surprise to get your gift in the middle of a bad birthday."

A small frown diluted Sienaerde's warmth. "I'm sorry to hear that it didn't go well."

"It wasn't so bad." Automne's smile becoming weighed down as he ran through his memories. "When Eve found out that she missed my birthday she threw a fit." Automne's smile quickly vanished as the events of his 'Make-up Birthday' slowly walked through his mind. "Ended up running all around Vale with her, just eating food and laughing at stupid stuff. It made up for the bad day." Automne said. Mindlessly he ground his thumb into the table whilst Eve, given life through his memories, painfully sat herself in the forefront of his brain.

Her simple smile and her warmth torturing him.

"Were you two romantic?"

Automne paused for a moment as the initial shock of the question hit him. It was somewhat like getting hit with a baseball; it hurt, but it was acute, and he knew it would weaken eventually. "No," His response dry. He quickly, but nervously, looked up at Sienaerde.

Her smile was gone and she looked tired as she disinterestedly played with her glass.

He knew she was doubting him. Evaluating all the decisions he had made, and judging him for getting too close to his teammates when he knew better. In her mind, he had no right to feel guilty. And as justified as all that was in Automne's own mind it was infuriating to know she was right.

"They were my cover." Automne said dismissively. "They stood in the way of our mission; they threatened to ruin everything." Automne's voice growing uneasy, he quickly began to cycle through options on how to change the subject.

And then a simple one crossed his mind.

Swiftly Automne's eyes darted to the gold bottle and, seconds later, so did his hand. Taking it by the neck he pulled the cork from its mouth with a loud pop. "You said you trust me to make the right decision, well I think we can both agree to a toast." His voice slightly pained as he took his glass and filled an eighth of the short container with the golden liquid.

Sienaerde looked at him with concern. For a moment she drew her glass back in towards herself, but then her expression softened and she extended the glass to him, placid.

Taking her glass he tilted the bottle forward to begin pouring it, but hesitated when he realized what he was about to do.

'_What about her…' _

His eyes narrowed as he focused on the objects.

'_She's two years sober…'_

Slowly, he began to tilt the bottle back.

'_I was about to ruin that.'_ After lowering the objects back to the table he found himself unable to move. He was paralyzed with shame.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, his ears stinging from his own words.

Sienaerde let out a long, cold sigh. Her eyes held on his filled glass. "What were you going to toast to?"

Automne let out a soft exhale.

"I was going to toast to all the people lost to the Grimm." Automne's eyes pooling tears as he thought of his former teammates. "And to all those who died in order for us to live in a world where we don't have to be afraid of them. A world where they can't hurt anyone else."

There was silence between the two. The words, constructed in a moment of pain, lingered in their minds and resonated through them like vibrations. Each ping and pang speaking to their souls.

"I want you to drink to that." Sienaerde said, her body warping inwards. Sniffling loudly she ran fingers over her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Nerves weak in Automne as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes on Sienaerde.

Sienaerde's hands tightened around her forearms. "It's for everyone we lost… Don't deny them that."

Automne raised his eyes in an attempt to meet hers. "Siena, are you all right?"

"Drink for their memory," Her voice harsh and miserable. Tears budding in the corners of her brown eyes she stared daggers at him. "And I'll be fine."

Guilt coursed into him as he stared at her. Barely thinking, he took the round glass in one hand and lifted it to his lips.

Tears burst into his eyes as the sweet liquid hit his mouth and set his senses on fire as it washed past his tongue and down into his throat. This of course was followed by him lurching forward to cough and sputter in agony. "Why the hell do people drink this shit?!" Automne shouted, the seriousness of the moment passing as Automne tried to get reacquainted with oxygen.

Sienaerde let out a soft sigh, her smile valiantly struggling to return. "And here I thought you'd gone and spoiled the mood… At least you didn't spit it out." Sienaerde lightly mocked. Standing she took the back of her chair in her hand and dragged it around to the other side of the table. A small chuckle even escaped her lips while she set herself beside Automne.

"Khaa khaa!" Automne coughed, his throat burning and his vision blurring. His coughs weakened though as Sienaerde, feigning disinterest, placed a hand on his back and began to gently rub him. Automne's vision cleared a smidgeon as he began to repeatedly, and violently, clear his throat. His eyes failed to clear in their entirety though until he focused on Sienaerde's pearl white socks.

"That explains it," Automne croaked, a grin growing on his tear-soaked face as he finally noticed she wasn't wearing her boots. "I thought you were taller."

* * *

**I wonder who saw that coming*wink wink*. Thanks for reading, and remember hush hush with those spoilers.**

**Stay tuned, for there is more to come. Until then, peace out.**

**-CS**


	27. Are you okay?

Automne in a groggy and pained state as sleep slowly abandoned him, tentatively opened his eyes only to be blinded. The fluorescent bulbs clinging to the ceiling had already been ignited. Their wretched sterile light scorched Automne's bare skin and left him groaning in agony as he attempted to shield his eyes from their toxic luminescence. Exhausted he gave off a pained groan.

"It's ten forty-seven; you overslept." The familiar, dry voice of Sienaerde welcoming Automne back to consciousness.

"If this is what a hangover feels like, then I swear I am never going to drink again." Automne grumbled shoving his palms into his eyes. "It feels like someone's hitting me with a pipe made of the worst sound in the world." Automne paused for a moment, his own voice reverberating through his body. "I also feel like I need to throw up."

"How unfortunate," Her simple responses coming from outside Automne's limited field of vision.

"Seriously," Automne said, rising to a seated position in his bed. "It's like someone tried to push a metal rod through my hea-" Automne paused abruptly to peep down at his coarse bedsheets. His senses soft beneath the volume of his headache he stared down at his abdomen curiously. Where he usually felt the gentle pressure of a waistband clinging to his hips, he currently felt nothing but the fabric of his sheets. "Uhm, did I-"

"Yes, you stripped down last night in your drunken stupor." Sienaerde's curt reply finally drawing Automne's eyes to her. Already dressed, she sat on the edge of her pristine bed, attentively lacing up her brown combat boots. "And to answer your follow-up question: Yes, I saw."

"Oh," Automne groaned weakly, embarrassment driving out some of his fatigue. "Umm… I'm-uh sorry about that."

"As you should be."

Automne's chest, stiff from nausea, warped uncomfortably as his emotions became muddled. He was no stranger to Sienaerde's pithy remarks, but in this instance Sienaerde's tone felt unusually distant. And as Automne looked her over he couldn't help but feel as if she were avoiding eye contact in its entirety.

Nervous, Automne swallowed the vile, malodorous spit that had accumulated in his mouth while he slept, pulled his bedsheets up past his naval and tried to proceed forward with an air of maturity. "Sooo…" His eyes holding on Sienaerde as he forced a smile, his head throbbing all the while. "Umm, sorry about last night… again. I –ehm didn't mean to get naked; I actually don't even remember that happening. It's not an excuse, but after a certain point everything is kind of just… blurry, and… hazy."

Sienaerde didn't respond. She didn't give any indication that she was listening to him. Silently she sat tightening the laces on her boots.

"Did I… did I say or… do anything wrong?" A tiny bit of fear creeping into Automne as he tried to deduce why exactly everything seemed so awkward. "Because- I- I don't remember doing anythi-"

"Nothing happened," Sienaerde said. Her gaze still not meeting Automne she lowered her pant-legs overtop her boots and rose to her feet. Turning to face the wall – her back to Automne – she silently began to tend to her clothes.

Automne's stomach relaxed for a moment just to tense up a fraction of a second later. His forced smile weakening Automne quickly wracked his aching mind until he was able to muster an idea. _'Let's just make small talk. Let's get past all the weirdness… and then grab something for this headache, because this is absolutely unbearable.'_

Automne glanced Sienaerde up and down for a minute before he was able to think of some small innocuous thing he could comment on. "Heh," He started nervously. "You know I feel kind of dumb, because of your whole height thing. I really thought you and I were about the same height." A small smile emerging on his lips as he stared at her boots fondly.

"Yes, the whole thing certainly speaks volumes about your abilities as a Huntsman." Sienaerde said, her back still towards Automne as she adjusted her jacket.

Automne's smile died as he stared at Sienaerde's back, her face hidden from him. "Siena, ar-"

"My _**name **_is Sienaerde. Refrain from addressing me by your pet name."

Automne gave a weak sigh; his insides churning. "Sienaerde, did I say anything or do-"

"I already answered this question." Sienaerde's voice dry as she stared down at her clothes. "By repeating it you're insinuating that I just lied to you."

"I'm not saying that. I just think you're not telling me something."

"Your ineptitude towards basic vocabulary is astonishing." Without another word Sienaerde quickly spun ninety-degrees and made for the door.

"Sienaerde," Automne croaked.

She paid no mind to him and continued forward.

"Sienaerde, please!" With one hand holding his sheets against him Automne hastily jumped from his bed and, outstretching his arm, took Sienaerde by the wrist.

Sienaerde tensed for a moment, ready to rip her arm away, but instead slackened. Letting her wrist hang loosely in his grip she stared forward at the door, only half of her face visible to him.

Automne's head throbbed mercilessly and chills ran up and down his bare body as he stared at Sienaerde. His skull pulsing and his body overcome with aches it took almost all his energy just to keep his hand tensed around her wrist. And although his grip was weak she looked as if she were in pain.

"Sienaerde, what happened last night?"

Her expression did not change. Sienaerde's eyes sunk to the floor and in a soft, dead voice she said, "I cried…"

Automne's grip weakened.

"I cried and you held me." She paused, her eyes glistening slightly beneath fluorescent lights. "Nothing more."

Automne struggled with her response, something wasn't right. Calmly, he asked, "What else happened?"

There was a brief, but excruciating pause as Automne waited for Sienaerde's response. His hand around her wrist he stood there anxiously. The cool air gently caressed his bare body and the ceaseless buzzing of the lights filled his ears as a numbness began to overtake him. Focusing had become a painful struggle which dulled his senses until he could barely feel Sienaerde between his fingers.

So, when her response came it was relieving in the most melancholic way.

"I realized last night that I never thanked you for helping me reach sobriety. The reason why I didn't thank you back then was because I hated you. I thought you were absolutely selfish. You knew absolutely nothing about me, and yet you decided that I'd be better off clean than dead. Because of that I hated you so much, and I thought you hated me too."

Sienaerde's wrist shifted in Automne's hand as she glanced back at him for a brief second. Her brown eye sparkled miserably before it averted itself from Automne. "Baula wants to speak to us. You should get dressed."

Automne stared at her unsatisfied. "Siena, you're not telling me something."

Sienaerde gave a long pause. "You didn't finish that bottle last night. I'm afraid I might lose myself in it. Please dispose of it." At that Sienaerde lightly tugged her wrist away from Automne and left the room without glancing back.

Automne stood naked at the center of the room. His head throbbing painfully he cast a glance over to the bottle of rum which still sat upon the folding table giving off a seductive glimmer to all those who needed comfort. He held his eyes on the bottle; his body lightly shaking as the fluorescent lights sapped at his spirit. His emotions a mess, he stood naked at the center of the room, lonely and unhappy.

* * *

Mindful of her volume Eve slowly opened the bedroom door, sending a soft click through the air. Her eyes were still puffy from her weeping, but as she had hoped the absence of light in the apartment mostly covered this. Uneasy, she took a breath to steady herself before she shuffled out past the threshold on bare feet. The dry carpet gently rubbing against her cold soles she made her way out into the living room where she looked around.

In an armchair, positioned near a sofa on her right, Petunia sat. Her face illuminated by blue and white light, she stared at a laptop with baggy eyes. Eve watched her from the hallway, unsure of how she should make herself known. Every introduction she thought of felt inappropriate, and as the seconds passed by awkwardness started to weigh upon her.

"You're up." Petunia said, her sudden dry, emotionless response made Eve flinch.

"I," Eve started before choking. Her throat was sore, and her sounds came out with a soft rasp as she struggled to form words. "I-um… I'm kind of hungry. Do we have any food?" She said weakly.

There was a pause. Petunia's eyes never left her laptop, she just stared through the screen. It was a solid minute before she half-heartedly pointed off to her left. "We have beef jerky and bread in the kitchen. Don't eat too much; we need to ration it."

Eve's eyes followed Petunia's finger to where the carpet gave way to a small, linoleum floored kitchen. Wordlessly, Eve shuffled across the carpet and over towards the kitchen. Her eyes – low to the ground as she stepped off carpet and onto the freezing cold linoleum – stumbled across a small rectangular piece of paper lying near the base of the refrigerator.

Curious, Eve stooped and picked up the paper only to immediately realize it was a photograph. The dim light, mostly coming from dull rays that managed to sneak into the apartment, made it difficult for her to make out anything in the picture. Undeterred Eve stepped further into the square-shaped kitchen towards a window that sat above the sink. Holding the picture up to an intruding beam, that stealthily slipped between the blinds, she was able to see the image clearly.

It was a simple portrait of two women wearing sundresses in a park. One of the women, with shimmering orange hair and a face that radiated warmth, had her arms lovingly draped over the shoulders of a younger looking purple-haired girl.

Eve strained her tired eyes examining the purple-haired girl. She was almost certain that it was Petunia, but the hair color paired along with a pure, care-free face lessened the resemblance. Although, given that the picture was in Petunia's apartment it was less of a question of "Is it Petunia?" and more along the lines of "When was this? And what happened?"

Gently brushing her thumb against the waxy corner of the photo Eve gave it a few more seconds of fond examination before she slowly set it down onto the counter. Placing it in partial shadow she was only able to make out the couple's silhouettes before she turned away. Hard-pressed on not turning back to the picture Eve removed it from her mind and set about making herself a meal.

At one corner of the counter there laid a loaf of white bread and beside that a few bags of beef jerky. Her appetite coming and parting in small waves she decided to only take a couple slices of bread and a handful of jerky.

With food in hand Eve made her way back towards the living room, but as she reached the edge of the linoleum a paranoid thought occurred to her. Wary from Petunia's earlier responses, Eve decided to look her over cautiously before marching right on over to her couch.

Carefully Eve panned her eyes across her partner, concern slowly mounting as she realized just how troubled she appeared. And, on most occasions, Eve would be the one to take it upon herself to comfort Petunia, and bring her back to her former self. All her pep and perk however were lost somewhere within her, and as a result her bruised heart couldn't find the strength to help.

So, unable to help her friend, and not willing to risk aggravating her any further, Eve decided to avoid sitting too close to her.

Eve briefly glanced around the room. With no spots other than the sofa in sight she quickly abandoned the idea of sitting somewhere comfortable. With a silent sigh she meandered over to where the carpet met the linoleum, and sat herself there. Her back against the cool wall and her rear placed on carpet she settled herself with another silent exhale.

Eve slowly began to pick apart her bread and lift small portions into her mouth. Her taste-buds rejoiced and swelled after being parted with food for what felt like eternity. Chewing, and allowing herself to savor every bite, Eve set her mind adrift. Mindlessly chewing, her periwinkle eyes began to glaze over as her tongue adapted to the food.

The inside of her mouth softened as she began to think about how bitter her food was. It was all she had to eat, but she hated the taste. It was too bland; too flavorless for her weathered tongue.

Eve slowly stiffened as her mouth recollected the taste of Automne's meals. She winced as she remembered dish after dish of sweet and savory foods, all served to her with an affectionate smile.

Desperate to rid her mind of his image Eve turned to Petunia. Panicking as the sound of his voice began to ring in her ears Eve forced a stray thought from her lips.

"Petunia, who was-"

'_Stop!'_

She paused abruptly.

In her desperation Eve was going to ask about the picture in the kitchen. Naturally, its peculiarity made her curious, but Petunia had never said a word to her of that hidden past. And through a quick simple deduction Eve had concluded that this exclusion must have been intentional. Fearing that she may be invading Petunia's privacy she quickly changed her question. "I-uh… I meant, is-is this place… safe?"

Petunia, who was staring at Eve with rapt attention, took a moment before she responded. Her eyes stayed on Eve for a couple long seconds before turning back to her laptop. Petunia gruffly asked, "What do you mean?"

"I was just-" Eve fumbling her words. "I'm… How have we not been found yet? You said this was your apartment, so why haven't the police come here?"

Petunia paused before half-heartedly directing her attention to a gray wall. "I don't own the apartment… my Ex does."

Eve took a moment to try and come up with an appropriate response. When no obvious responses came and when Automne began to reemerge she gave a quick reply. "I saw a photo in the kitchen. The one where you were in a sundress. Was the other girl in the photo your Ex?"

Eve's question was met with a harsh silence. Petunia refused to look towards her, but the vacancy in her stare told Eve that she was listening. "No offense Eve, but that's none of your business."

Eve went silent; her mind still buzzing softly she sank back against the wall knowing that she had overstepped.

Her mind trailing away from the brief conversation, Eve stared down at the small portion of food left in her palms with mild disgust. Sulking, she solemnly shoved it into her mouth and chewed it in silence. As the taste of peppered jerky and bread swirled in her mouth she began to tense her muscles for the short walk back to the main bedroom.

Placing her bare hands on the ground she made to push herself up when the front door gave a sudden click.

Quickly entering and shutting the door behind him Ty propped himself up against the entrance.

Surprised by Ty's sudden appearance, Eve calmly lowered herself back to the ground and watched him anxiously.

"I found a lead." Ty said, his voice hoarse and the bruises on his face darker than when he left.

Silence followed.

Petunia stared at her laptop – languid, but visibly angry – while Eve just watched him nervously.

Time trickled on, and as the silence showed no nearing end Ty decided to continue. "I tracked down that guy I knew from Vice squad. He is working with Baula and Arsenic."

Eve's refreshed stomach churned. Her body struggled to accept her leader's tone. Solemn and weary, it reminded her of their defeat and the fact that they had misplaced their trust.

"The name of the woman who runs The Oasis is Rouge. She's one of Baula's Generals." A soft, bitter hiss trailing Ty's words. "She's supposed to meet a couple of cops at one of their warehouses tomorrow night."

"So," Petunia said, a bit of energy audible in her dour voice. "What do ya' wanna do?"

"I want to surveil the meeting. They don't know we're still alive, and I want to know what they're planning right now."

"Is that it?" Curiosity mixed in with Petunia's unease.

"The warehouse is supposedly filled with weapons, dust, and narcotics." Ty continued, his voice tired and his eyes glazing over. "Once the meeting ends, I want to scuttle everything."

Eve flitted her eyes between Petunia and Ty. With her back against the wall she drew her knees in close and crossed her arms over her chest. A painful wave burst through the bruises near her heart.

"Alright," Petunia said, some positive energy in her whisper. "I'm in. I'm tired of just sitting around; I wanna make 'em hurt. But, if we're going to give 'em hell we'll need an exit strategy. I'll see if I can come up with one."

"I'll look into getting us some ammo. Eve," Ty's voice barely drawing her attention. "Do you need any medical supplies?"

Eve was silent for a moment. Her fingers weakly squeezing her biceps. "No,"

Her miserable, weak voice barely touching his ears Ty examined her intensely. "Eve, we need you on this one. You had issues with this in the past, but right now we are the only ones standing between Baula and Vale. If you don't have your head in this-"

"Ty," Eve said. "Baula is bad, and if we don't do something people will get hurt." Staring through her knees Eve closed her eyes and gave a large sigh. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to stop him."

"Are you sure? Because we're relying on you, and if you can't do this-"

"I'll be fine." Eve lied.

Her heart beating slowly in her chest she didn't even bother to look up at Ty and give him a reassuring glance. She kept her eyes in her lap.

Ty gave a small sigh, clearly not assured. "If everyone's good, then I'm going to get some sleep." Shuffling towards the couch he pulled his weapon from his jacket and laid down. "Wake me in a couple of hours."

'_I don't like this.'_

The cold air nipping her skin Eve held herself tighter. The remainder of her friends sinking back into isolation she was once again left with herself.

'_I don't like this.'_

A shiver rolled through Eve as the slow, sad throbbing of her heart sent pulses of pain through the bruises on her chest.

Tears threatening to roll into her eyes Eve tightened hands around herself.

'_I don't like this…'_

* * *

**Hi everyone, I'm glad to be back and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

** This chapter took me quite a bit of time (Over four months to be exact), and honestly my inclement anxieties may have gotten the better of me on this one. That's not to say I don't like this chapter, and it definitely doesn't mean that I think it's bad, but at the end of it all this chapter just failed to give me that moment of visceral satisfaction that let's me know it's complete. I'm not certain whether it was the dour tone which always prevented me from feeling positive or whether it was just the fundamental things like the character interactions which I always felt uncertain about, but either way something still doesn't sit right with me personally. I rarely give my perspective in these notes, but given the unreasonably long hiatus I felt a bit of explanation was necessary. **

**I'd really like to know what you thought of this chapter. Whether you loved it, hated it, or just felt bored I want to hear your perspective on this one. Please leave a review if you have the time. Even if you have, like, five words to say I really want to hear what you thought. I accept all constructive criticism in the sake of helping to improve the story for all of us.**

**Thanks for sticking with me everybody, I really appreciate it and I hope you'll stay with me a while longer.**

**Stay tuned, there is more to come. Until then, peace out.**

**-CS**


	28. One day,

**A/N: Want some awful advice? Don't go to college. It's a waste of time and money. Become an artist then only be mildly good at it... Anyways, here's the new chapter. I'm sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy it.**

**1/5/2017 Update: Hi everybody, I'm just dropping in to say thanks for reading. Whether you've been here from day one, or whether you've been here for one day I appreciate your readership. I've been loosing a lot of Followers as of late and, while I do wish they'd stay, there's nothing I can do except write this story. Thanks for reading, everyone.**

**Also, I forgot to mention, once this story concludes I will be polishing up all the posted chapters. I've already written up the "new" chapter 1 so expect to see that soon.**

**Peace out.**

**-CS**

* * *

A few white seagulls drifted calmly on a salt-scented wind. Behind them the sun inched its way beneath the horizon whilst they sailed over the Vale dockyard. Gliding past the anxious sea and over large steel containers the birds headed inland.

Or at least that was the case until they got shot.

Peppered with lead the birds dropped from the sky and fell to the earth, dead. Back at the dockyard, which was rapidly slipping behind the veil of night, the avian assassin softly chuckled to himself. Standing between seemingly abandoned warehouses, a thug clad in black and gray camouflage lowered his rifle and stared up at the sky with pride.

"What the hell're ya' doing!" Another man with matching camo and a gun said, smacking his colleague on the shoulder.

An offended look slathered itself across the bird killer's face. "Chill out, man." He said. "It's just a few seagulls; fuck seagulls."

"Dumbass, that's not the point. We're-"

Nearby, a side-door to one of the warehouses flew open and a man wearing a balaclava and similar camouflage stormed out. In a single motion he pivoted towards the two gunmen and marched over to them. "What the fuck are you retards shooting at?" The contours of the man's furious expression barely visible through the fabric and fading light.

The two men went silent, averting their eyes to the ground or sky.

"Huh?!" The man in the balaclava snapped, shoving the innocent thug on the chest. "You gon' say something or should we take this to Rouge? I'm sure she'd love to hear all about this." The man said as he raised his hand to a speaker clipped onto his shoulder.

"Man," The bird killer said, the tension in his voice betraying him. "I was jus' shootin' some birds. It's no big deal."

"'**Shootin' birds'**? Are you being serious, dumbass?" The masked man said, riled further by the truth. "We're meetin' cops, and you're out here **'shootin birds'**? Do you wanna go tell Rouge that you were just **'shootin some birds'**?" The man's intensity reaching new levels as he dogged down the offender.

Looking at the ground the bird killer quietly replied with a weak: "No,"

His ego satiated the masked man leaned back and raised a hand to his shoulder speaker. Pushing a button on the small device he turned to it and said, "10-5, we're all clear out here. Patrol got trigger happy."

There was a brief pause before the speaker responded. "Green Leader, stand by… Green Leader, do me a favor and baby-sit those grunts until negotiations are settled. The General wants to speak to them personally. For now, cover the sides and the back of the storehouse; we don't want to see you out front."

"10-4, Lieutenant," The masked man said, staring at the two grunts with disdain. With his hand on his speaker and his eyes on the two somber grunts he patiently waited for further instructions. After a minute of waiting he released the electronic and pointed at the shooter. "You're a dumbass."

Illuminated solely by the pale moonlight coming through gaps in the clouds the three men slowly began to circle around the back of the building. With slouched shoulders the grunts shuffled along behind the masked man called Green Leader. And with nothing else to do, other than patrol, Green Leader decided to chastise his men.

"I worked for three years as a grunt and I never once saw someone fuck up on an Op as monumentally as you just did." Green Leader grumbled as the three rather noisily made their way down the alley. "Seriously, I hope ya' lived a good life, 'cause the General is going to cut your stupid heads off. And don't believe she won't do it, I've seen her execute people for less. This is just stupid, we pull you off the streets and-"

"Hey, what the-"

"FAck!"

Two voices looming behind Green Leader squawked.

Startled by the atypical sound of whooshing and metal clattering to the ground, Green Leader turned around to see a large shuriken had bound his men in a thick thread. And behind the restrained men, a short way down the alley, was a shadowed figure sprinting directly towards the trio. Green Leader, no doubt shocked by the ambush, gritted his teeth and darted his hands to a baseball bat hanging at his hip.

Before the man could draw his weapon though a broad surge of pain erupted in his lower back. Staggering forward the man turned and caught a glimpse of his assailant as they retracted the tail-end of their axe from his spine.

Choking on his tongue the man met the cold eyes of a blue and orange haired girl who was currently raising her axe into the air above her. The man coughed fearfully, and before he had the opportunity to consider his next move she had already rained down upon him with her blade, slashing his balaclava open like paper. Falling down and rolling to his back the man stared up at Petunia in terror for a fleeting second before she smashed the butt of her axe into his face, knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile Ty was just beginning to finish beating the two grunts into bloody and bruised messes. Satisfied with how unconscious they were he began to remove his shuriken from around them. Panting slightly, he said, "We clear?"

"Yeah," Petunia replied, kneeling down to remove the speaker from her victim's shoulder. "This guy ain't getting up anytime soon. So, what's next, should we-"

"Look out!" Eve called to Petunia. Bursting from the shadows Eve sprang into the center of the alley, her white clothes glowing faintly in the dim light. Her face pale and serious, she raised her marionette handle high and aimed it towards the roof of the guarded warehouse. Hitting a tab she shot forth a flurry of strings out into the murk.

Ty and Petunia turned in shock to see Eve's strings attach to and paralyze a man. His outline was barely perceptible against the night sky, but it was clear to all that he was aiming a rather imposing rifle at them. Giving a firm tug to the handle Eve pulled the stunned man off balance, and with a short slide from his perch the sniper fell to the ground like an anvil weighted with more anvils.

Stark and absolute, silence followed as Ty, Petunia, and Eve stared at the sniper. He was more or less comatose at this point, but what really cooled their blood was just how loud the man smashed into the pavement. Uncertain if they had just screwed themselves with that one simple act the three gripped their weapons with excruciating intensity and they listened for trouble.

And they listened.

And listened.

And listened.

But, aside from the sounds of rats scurrying and the ocean churning in the distance, they heard nothing. Agonizing seconds stretched on and on, but no garrison of criminals came for them. In fact, nothing happened, and when they realized nothing was going to happen the three let loose long, shaky exhales.

The longest and most uneasy of the exhales came from Eve. Her joints buckled and her body trembled lightly as she struggled to maintain a firm grip on her weapon.

"Eve," Ty hissed, his voice low as he turned to her. "What the hell was that?"

"I-I'm sorry," Eve whispered, taken off guard by her leader. "I-I saw the sniper, and-and he was going to shoot-"

"It's not Eve's fault." Petunia snapped, turning to Ty with a scowl. "You were the one who scouted out the place and you said it was just the three guys, you didn't say anything about a sniper." Petunia pointed at the paralyzed body of the sniper. "Dude's got a radio, he could've ruined the whole plan."

"I didn't see the sniper, he must have been closer to the center of the roof." Ty said, deflecting the blame.

"You're the one who's supposed to keep an eye out for that sort of thing." Petunia said, closing the gap between her and her leader by shoving a finger into his breastplate. "I could've gotten shot all because you don't know how to do your job."

"Petunia, leave Ty alone." Eve interjected bravely, earning herself glares from both Petunia and Ty. She didn't meet their eyes though, instead she stared at her ensnared victim with a sorrowful look. Her flushed cheeks now a ghostly shade. "We can't blame him… Automne always did scout for us"

Petunia and Ty's expressions instantly took on a severe dourness. As it was, their hopes weren't exactly high, and the constant reminder that their team was horribly crippled didn't instill them with confidence. They were all rife with paranoia, and if they weren't so busy they'd probably break down; or at the very least Eve would.

With a small sigh Ty turned back to his unconscious grunts. Silently he detached his shuriken and lifted the guards by the wire. "Eve, take that thread and tie up the squad leader and the sniper. I'll move them behind that corner to keep them out of sight. Petunia, see if that radio still works. I wanna know if we can hear what's going on in there."

"Ay, ay, captain." Petunia scoffed.

"Drop the sass, the cops are going to be here soon and we need to get inside." Ty said, dragging the two goons behind the corner. "Let's get this done as quickly as possible."

Petunia simply responded by mumbling something incoherent and snarky to herself. Shifting the speaker into one hand she reached down, grabbed Green Leader by his collar, and hoisted him onto his rear. "Eve, here you go." Petunia grumbled as she dragged the man over to Eve.

Eve didn't respond though. Instead she just absentmindedly propped up the sniper. At a glance she appeared to be focusing on her orders, but upon further inspection she was awkwardly fumbling trough her duties. Her movements were slow and thoughtless; revealing that her mind was wandering somewhere distant.

"Eve," Petunia said, hoping to stir her from her daze. Her call garnered no response. "Hey," she said with growing concern as she reached out to touch Eve's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Eve jumped slightly at Petunia's touch. Startled, she turned to her and immediately settled into a less obvious state of anxiety. "Oh," Eve's voice soft as she looked at Petunia for a moment before turning back to the sniper. "I'm sorry, I was… distracted."

"You alright?" Petunia reiterated, the words clearly didn't register the first time.

"Mhmm," Eve hummed. Wordlessly she took the patrol leader from Petunia and tried to busy herself.

Petunia glanced Eve up and down, unassured. Hesitant to say anything Petunia gave a small sigh. "Eve, I… We understand."

Eve stopped mindlessly tying the two thugs together. Petunia had reached her, she stirred something within her restless mind. Eve's eyes darted around skeptically before she slowly went back to her assignment.

"I wouldn't blame you if you left; neither would Ty." Petunia whispered, as she began tinkering with the guard's radio. She occasionally stopped to gauge Eve's reaction before continuing. "Listen, Ty and I were the ones pushing this whole investigation from the beginning. We never meant to drag you into something like… _this_, and we don't need your help to clean up what we started. Ty and I can handle this on our own."

"I'm staying." Eve's reply solemn.

Petunia, gave pause. Her concern for her friend began to mount. Drawing back her gentleness she continued. "Eve, your head's not in this. If we get attacked and you're distracted, or if you make a wrong move, it's over. You should go."

"Do you really think I'm that fragile?" Eve said softly. "I've spent years training for moments like these. I'm not going to run away. I'm the medic. It's my responsibility to take care of this team, no matter the cost… I'm not going anywhere."

Petunia glared at Eve. Shaking her head she turned back to the speaker. "You can spout little lines like that all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you're not cut out for this. And I don't know what I need to do to convince you, but if you want to march right on to your death I'm not going to stop-ah UNNGHHHH!" Petunia groaned in agony, dropping the speaker to the ground and shoving her hands against her ears.

"Petunia?" Eve gasped, concern driving away her distractions.

"Shit, what's wrong?" Ty said as he rushed to the girl's side.

"I don't know she-"

"Nnnnhhhh, it's my hearing aids!" Petunia growled as she quickly ripped out her hearing aids. "Dust damn it, not again!"

"Shit," Ty mumbled as Petunia turned to him and grabbed him by the collar.

"My hearing aids just went insane again." A mixture of fury and pain etched across her face. "I don't know why, but this keeps happening whenever I'm near their stupid bases."

Ty gave a quick sigh a pulled out his Scroll. Holding it under his chin for illumination he began to speak. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I think they have some kind of jammer that fucks up the frequency on my hearing aids. Last time it only lasted for a few minutes."

"We can't risk this happening inside." Stress was clearly thrashing Ty as he racked his mind for solutions. After a good ten seconds of grimacing at the warehouse and tapping his foot violently he turned back to Eve and Petunia with a stern look. "All right, here's what we're going to do." His mouth accentuating every vowel for Petunia. "Petunia: **Stay. Behind. Me. **Got it?"

"Yeah," Her voice coated with uncertainty and frustration.

"Eve," Ty continued, turning to the dark haired girl. "You'll take up the rear. We stick together, unless I say otherwise."

"Wouldn't it be safer for one of us to just scout the inside and come out?" Eve suggested, her eyes now dancing around the landscape fearfully.

"No, we can't run the risk of going in alone and getting caught. And we can't leave Petunia alone since she can't use comms."

"Well, if we're going in there, I think Petunia should stick with me."

"No," Ty stated. "I can't trust you to watch over her. If I didn't need an extra set of eyes here I wouldn't have let you come. You're an emotional wreck set to breakdown at the very mention of your stupid boyfriend and you've already endangered us once tonight. I, on the other hand, am actually prepared to go in there and fight like hell. She's safer with me."

Eve fell silent. Ty's words made her heart cringe with sorrow. What he said, at least in Eve's mind, was entirely true. "Fine," Eve whispered, turning back to the two guard's she was tying up. Brooding, Eve finished her task, then with a calmness that genuinely unsettled her teammates she disappeared behind a corner and reemerged a moment later with her full naginata in hand. "I'm ready when you are."

Ty gave a deep breath. Without pause he took the two guards and dragged them around the corner. After he disposed of the guards he pulled his Scroll out once more, and held it beneath his chin. Turning to his teammates he whispered, "Let's move up to the entrance on the left side of the warehouse. Petunia behind me; Eve, the rear; remember, follow my lead." Ty quickly stowed his Scroll and the two fell in line behind him as he began to creep down the alley.

Slowly they all worked their way through the darkness towards a pair of double doors. As they approached, without warning, Ty shot a hand into the air signaling them to stop.

Eve, with eyes sharpened by frustration, watched as Ty crept up to the door and pulled it open. He raised his hand again, signaling them to remain, before he entered. Eve took in a breath of air and stared at the doorframe. Her chest achy and her hands sore from holding her weapon too tightly she kept her sights on the door. Once or twice she threw a glance back down the alley, just to be certain she wasn't about to be ambushed. And, just as a cold sweat began to break across her forehead, Ty came back through the door.

He brought some company with him though.

Ty, shuffling backwards, was dragging with him a guard who was struggling to remove Ty's shuriken wire from around his neck. The guard was completely out of luck however. Because as soon as he had passed out into the shadow of the warehouse Petunia delivered unto him a solid uppercut, which immediately turned him into a ragdoll.

Everyone let loose a breath of relief before jumping back to their senses. Ty, quickly unraveled his wire from around the guard's neck and tossed the guy aside into the shadows. He then turned to his teammates and gestured for them to follow.

Eve watched as Petunia followed Ty in, and after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she entered along with her. Cautious of her speed and sound Eve crept onto the floor of a large, cold, mostly dark warehouse. From her left to her right the inside of the building was packed end-to-end with steel-framed shelves, all stocked with large crates. Some aisles were even blocked by excess crates, making the place resemble a labyrinth in some areas.

"Over there," Ty said, gesturing to the far left; the only side of the warehouse that was fully illuminated. "That's the front side of the warehouse. They must be having the meeting there." Ty's eyes scanning the environment around him as he spoke.

"What's the plan?" Eve asked, her own eyes shifting around the building.

"Hold on," Ty said, looking up towards the rafters. "Hey," A bit of optimism in his call. "Eve, look up there."

Following Ty's pointed finger it only took Eve a moment before she noticed the shadowy catwalks hanging above the shelves. Intrigued by the steel walkways Eve followed the paths across the perimeter of the building.

"Looks like nobody's up there… and they seem sturdy." A look of genuine confidence appearing on Ty's face as he turned to Eve. "Eve, I want you to get up on those catwalks. Petunia and I will move up to the meeting on this left side of the building."

"What do you want me to do up there?"

"Just be our lookout. You'll have a better view of the meeting so you can alert us if there's a problem." Ty, still throwing cautious glances around the room, took out his Scroll and quickly dialed Eve. "Stay on the line and let us know if you see anything important." Ty looked back down to the far end of the warehouse where soft gold light clashed with shadows. "It looks like there's a lot of crates down towards the meeting area, so we'll take cover there."

"Ty," Concern audible in Eve's soft voice. "Are you sure-"

"That's an order, Eve. Go find a way to get up to that far catwalk. I'll contact you when we're in position." Ty's terse response left Eve silent.

Without saying another word Eve rose from her crouch and rushed towards the darker side of the warehouse. Moving as quickly and quietly as possible she disappeared behind into the Phantom Clan's store. In a matter of seconds she had broken sight with her friends and now she was skating through the darkness by herself. Scanning the black aisles as she went, Eve made her way further into the warehouse until she finally found a ladder leading up to the walkway.

Connecting Starlight Marionette to her back, Eve grabbed the ladder and began pulling herself up. Air passed swiftly through her lungs as she ascended and sweat trickled down her pale skin. But, just as her gloved fingers hit the top rung a feeling, cold and unpleasant, coursed through her entire body.

'_Eyes!'_ Eve gasped. _'I'm being watched!'_ Pulling herself onto the catwalk Eve began to throw her head around in a panic. She could feel them, a pair of eyes pressing against her skin like ice, but she was alone. There was no one to be seen, on the catwalks or on the ground below. _'It feels…'_

Eve tensed to stop at the top of the ladder. Fixating on a cross-section between two catwalks, she could've sworn there was a person there. But there was nothing, just darkness and what felt like eyes, familiar eyes.

Eve's body shuddered as she struggled to look away, but suddenly a sound stirred her from what felt like a haunting leer.

"Eve," Ty's faint, static stricken voice piercing the silence. "We're in position. How copy?"

Eve did not respond. Subtly twitching she stood in place, staring at nothing. Her chest rising and dropping as she tried to see the invisible eyes.

"Eve, how copy?"

Eve swiftly turned away. Metal pattering under her feet she moved towards the criminal's meeting place, eyes still pressing against her. As she approached the bright side of the warehouse, Eve pulled out her Scroll and eased her pace. "I'm almost in position." Eve breathed into her Scroll, ignoring the eyes softly prodding the back of her head.

"Hurry up, I think the meeting is about to start." Ty hissed as Eve began to near the end of the aisle-ways.

Slowing down until she was practically inching her way along the catwalk, Eve got down onto her hands and knees. Placing her weapon down on the walkway beside her she snuck over to the edge of the platform and peered over. Casting her eyes around the warehouse she examined what was very clearly a hostile criminal meeting-place.

Standing towards the interior of the warehouse was The Phantom Clan. With rifles and bladed weapons at the ready roughly a dozen of the criminals stood against the shelves in a large, scattered crescent shape.

"Are you going to keep us waiting all night?" A police officer wearing aviators and a duster barked to The Phantom Clan as he sat himself on the hood of one of the three SUV's parked at the warehouse entrance. With a grimace he cast his eyes around to the nine officers who accompanied him. A couple of the officers were still dressed in their full uniforms while the rest were dressed in casual clothes, all of them however were carrying rifles and sporting thick body armor.

"What, you got a date with Torchwick after this?" A Phantom Clan member, standing at the head of the gang replied.

"We didn't come here to stand around with a bunch of shit-stain degenerates." The officer shouted. "Are we going to negotiate or what?"

"Alright," The Phantom Clan member started calmly. "How's this for negotiation? After I kill ya' and put you on a spit, do you want me to fuck your fat wife; or the decrepit, worn-out, bone-bag you call ya' mother?"

"Is that a threat?" The officer snapped, pulling a compact rifle from inside his duster. This naturally caused all the Phantom Clan members to spring to life and take up their weapons.

"Yes, old man, it is." The officers and the criminals preparing to gun each other down, as the head of the Clan drew a sword. "And we all know where this is going anyways, so how about-"

"A gracious host, you are not, Lieutenant." Rouge chimed in a soft, cold voice as she leisurely stepped out onto the warehouse floor. With her battle axe propped against her shoulder she made her way to the center of the conflict oval. Sienaerde accompanied the woman, following at her left.

Eve gave a soft gasp and pulled her Scroll to her mouth. In a whisper she said, "Ty, Sienaerde is here."

"We see her." Ty whispered back. "If she's here there's a good chance Automne is here as well."

Eve's chest clenched with an unpleasant throb. Remembering the strange encounter she had experienced minutes ago she mindlessly whispered, "Copy that," into her Scroll before falling silent once more.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Rouge stated boisterously, her voice echoing off the metal walls. "I had other matters to attend to before this and, to be blunt, I have things to attend to after this. So, please, in as few words as possible, what is the purpose of this meeting?"

"Okay," The head of the police slurred, glaring at Rouge. "To be short: your rates are goin' up."

Rouge's hand twisted tightly around the handle of her axe. The goons behind her shifted threateningly as Rouge stated, "Elaborate,"

"Eve," Ty mumbled through the Scroll, the words scraping at the girl's ear. "Prepare for a shootout."

"We've been turning a blind-eye to your little operations for years. It ain't easy to cover-up your drug dens and let your gang-bangers off the hook every time they decide to shoot up someone else's neighborhood. And lately you've just been pressing our patience. As of right now our rates are doubling, and if you got a problem with that you can go ahead and kiss all your privileges and your assets goodbye."

The officer stopped to pull a cigarette from his jacket, his men smirking with pride. "If I wanted to I could have this place raided in an hour. All I have to do is send in an 'anonymous tip' to the higher ups and every one of your facilities, and every other hole you own will be raided. And as for you and your gang, I'm content with just letting the regular guys pick you off the streets day-by-day until you don't got enough people to even run that rinky-dink strip-club." Satisfied with himself the man looked between Rouge and Sienaerde with a smug grin.

There was then a long hard pause as Rouge stared down the officer. Slowly she began to tap the heel of her shoe into the ground, sending a small piercing echo through the building. Even Eve began to grow goosebumps as Rouge, dressed in her fine scarlet fabrics attempted to dog the man into submission.

"Tell me," Rouge started. "Did you think this through? I'm left to assume you didn't, because if you had you wouldn't be here puffing your chest and acting as if you could hold a candle to me."

Rouge casually removed her axe from her shoulder to let the blade rest on the floor. "I'm going to make two things abundantly clear right now. First, you are utterly incapable of harming The Phantom Clan. We have always been, and we shall remain, ten steps ahead of you and your broken justice system. So don't waste my time with your delusions of some grand crackdown. Second, I want you to realize that you, are not in a position of power.

"You may not have realized this, but you and your allies along with everyone you answer to, you belong to me. And ever since you fell into my possession I have taken the time to educate myself about everything there is to know about you. I took your weaknesses and what few skills you had, and I used those to appraise you. The funniest part is, you think you're some vital part of my operation, when in fact you're all disposable at this point." Rouge drew her axe across the floor letting out a sharp metallic screech. "If I felt compelled to, I'd slaughter all of you right here, on the spot, just to set an example to everyone else beneath me. That said, I am feeling very forgiving right now. So, I am willing to let you go home tonight with no repercussions, if you get on your knees, apologize for wasting my time, and acknowledge the fact that I own you."

Eve stared at Rouge with bated breath. Her tone alone ensured Eve that she truly had no reservations about killing the officers, but that didn't stop the police from bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Oh no," Eve muttered. Fearing an all-out battle she slid her hand to her weapon. Eve quickly tensed her muscles, expecting the woman to lash out at any moment, but Rouge didn't make a move. Sienaerde did; suddenly the rifle-girl who had been standing still beside Rouge through her entire speech, slinked closer to her and whispered something.

That's when Eve noticed a dramatic shift in Rouge's countenance. In a blink the once calm, austere woman raised her battle axe, transformed it into a gun, and blew the head officer away with a scarlet plume, before turning to a group of crates and firing a second volley.

"Shit!" Ty screamed through the Scroll as debris and bullets began flying through the air.

"Kill the police! Capture the children!" Rouge demanded, her voice rising over the mayhem as she advanced towards Ty and Petunia's exposed hiding spot.

Eve let out a terrified gasp. "No!" She said, jolting to her knees and raising her weapon. Gunfire had filled the warehouse as the Phantom Clan and the crooked cops went to war. And off to the side of that battle was a small barricade of blue shields that Petunia and Ty were huddled behind. Readying their weapons they prepped to fight Sienaerde and Rouge who were now laying down a hail of bullets upon their shield. "I've got to help them." Eve said dashing towards the guardrail.

"Eve!"

Eve stopped.

Somewhere between the gunshots and screams she heard a voice. Her hand still fastened to the railing she turned away from the carnage and set her eyes on the deepest most shrouded part of the warehouse. There, on the farthest end of the catwalk, was the silhouette of a person. Arms hanging at their side the shadowed figure stood still, staring straight at Eve.

Her eyes didn't leave the figure. Even after it suddenly faded from existence she held her gaze upon where it once stood. Her hand slipping from the guardrail, Eve began moving down the catwalk. As she moved further away from the cacophony of battle and deeper into the shadows, a hatch in the roof burst open sending a cascade of moonlight raining down unto a silver ladder.

Her breathing unsteady Eve glided towards the moonlight like a moth. Her feet fell heavily upon the metal walkway as she sprinted towards the light. Her eyes, shining behind her glasses, were fixated upon the glittering ladder as she leapt forward onto it. Still holding her weapon in one hand she struggled to ascend, her heart relentlessly pounding against her.

Throwing her weapon up through the hatch she was able to pull herself out onto the frigid roof. Working her way onto the slicked surface, she had a hard time finding her footing. The sound of her heart in her ears she stumbled over to her weapon and snatched it up. Cheeks burning like fire she whipped her head around, her glasses barely clinging to her face. When she saw no one she swiftly made her way to the center of the roof. She kept throwing her eyes around, looking for him. Her glasses and hair shimmering gently beneath the moonlight, her body trembling violently.

"Automne!" She screamed, his ceaseless stare burning her skin. Hot air fled from Eve's mouth as the calm winds gradually began to cool her. The wind tossed her hair about carelessly. She took her weapon in both hands and pulled it tightly to her chest.

Standing still now, Eve stared into the city of Vale the sparkling lights shining warmly in the cold night. Her hands eased upon her weapon as she lowered her eyes to the matte roof beneath her. The sound of her breathing slowly began to fall behind the sound of her heartbeat. She wanted to say his name again.

"Why are you here?" Automne's voice piercing the silence.

Air flooded Eve's lungs as she spun around to see Automne standing a few feet behind her. Losing her balance Eve fell backwards onto her rear. Quickly she got to her feet and pointed the blade of her weapon at Automne. Shivering she staggered further backwards, her face twisted by fear and surprise. "Automne," She whispered.

"Why are you here?" Automne repeated, glaring at Eve with, his pistol at his side.

Eve gripped her weapon tightly. "I-I" She stammered, "I don't- what do you-"

"Why are you here?! Why did you come back?!" Automne shouted, stomping on the roof. "I gave you a way out. I gave all of you a way out!" His shouts desolate. "You were supposed to run away; leave Vale. Why did you come back?!"

A pleasant warmth echoed through Eve's chest. The revelation that he didn't intend to harm her that night soothed Eve. But the agony that came with his words greatly softened the impact upon her heart.

"Automne," Eve uncertain if her gentle voice was rising over the wind. "We can't leave." His expression, that of a distraught and tortured person remained unchanged. Eve steadied her chest; she could feel confidence within her. "We can't leave, Automne! We need to stop Baula!"

Automne's mouth twisted with a miserable frown. "Eve, n-NO! You-you don't understand! Baula's a good person!"

"He's a terrorist!" Eve's voice reaching painful heights.

"We're trying to help people!" Automne practically pleading.

"He works with criminals! He wants to overthrow the Council!"

"The Council is run by a bunch of bureaucrats who only care about themselves!" Automne's voice cracking as he furiously waved his gun around. "Thousands of people outside of Vale need help, but the Council doesn't give a damn about them! Baula is going to change that. The Phantom Clan isn't perfect, but with Baula in charge we can use them to protect the villages and push back the Grimm! Don't you understand?!"

"Automne, Baula's lying to you!" Anger rising in her chest. "He's been manipulating you, he'll tell you anything to get his way!"

Pain hit Eve hard as she watched him shake his head in denial.

"You're wrong about him!"

"He wanted you to kill us! He wanted you to kill me!" Eve advanced at Automne, opening her arms in a sign of frustration.

"That was my fault." Automne whimpered, taking a step backwards. The tears in his eyes glistened in the moonlight. "I got too close to all of you, when I was supposed to be there on a mission. I shouldn't have gotten as close to you as I did. If I did my job and kept all of you at a distance none of this would have happened. I wasn't supposed to let you get anywhere near what you saw."

"Automne, I won't blame you for being my friend. And I don't blame you for what you did that night." Eve advancing further. "The only reason you did what you did was because Baula made you do it. He's using you. Why can't you see that?!"

"Stop!" Automne demanded, raising his gun at Eve. "You-you're trying to turn me against Baula, but this isn't just about him. This is about the people outside of Vale. The people that need help. What about them Eve?!"

Eve paused. She took a few moments to think of what she felt was true, staring at Automne all the while. Her throat sore and her head throbbing she carefully prepared her thoughts. "Automne," She started gently. "I'm sorry for what happened to your mother, but you can't save everyone."

Automne froze in shock. Standing stiff he stared through Eve.

"The people outside of Vale choose to live beyond the Kingdom's protection. They're the people brave enough to venture out into the wild despite the Grimm. We do what we can for them, but at the end of the day it's their choice to live free from us, and we have to accept that." Eve quivering as she tried to make Automne understand. "People like your mom chose to live outside of Vale. She chose to live somewhere dangerous, because she wasn't afraid, and I know she wouldn't have wanted you to be afraid. She-"

"Shut up!" Automne yelled. His eyes shut and his body tensed he fired a round over Eve's shoulder.

Eve staggering backwards shot a hand to her shoulder. Shaky breaths parted Eve's mouth as she stared at Automne who looked back at her with only a half-guilty expression. The other half was anger.

Irate in the wake of his outburst Automne glared at Eve. "I gave you your opportunity to leave. Whatever happens after tonight is your fault." Turning away, Automne faded from visibility.

'_NO!'_ Eve screamed internally. _'I can't let him do this!'_

"Automne!" Eve screamed into the night. "He'll kill you! I know he will!"

There was no response.

Tears beginning to rush from her eyes. Panic began to fall upon her. Thinking quickly she shouted again.

"Your mom wouldn't have wanted this!" Eve's fists balled in fury as tears poured down her face. "She would have wanted any of this!"

The sound of metal pounding underfoot filled the air.

In a flash Automne stormed into sight, sprinting right towards Eve. Eve flinched as he grabbed her by the collar and pushed the barrel of his gun into her cheek.

"Shut up!" Tears running down his face, he shouted at Eve; their eyes locked. "SHUT UP!"

'_Don't give up!'_ Taking Automne by the scarf she shouted painfully.

"She would have wanted you to be happy! She wouldn't have wanted this!"

"How would you know?! You never even got to meet her!" Sobs breaking Automne's voice as he clung to Eve's jacket.

The soft sound of Automne's sobs filled Eve's ears. Staring into his pained face her tears trickled to a stop. Slowly she spoke. "I know you. I know I do. And I know your mom loved you."

The pressure from Automne's pistol weakened upon Eve's cheek. Shaking wildly Automne pulled the gun away and lowered it to his side. A deep sadness clouded his eyes as he broke them away from Eve. Staring at the ground he gripped Eve's coat so tightly that the seams creaked. Softly he whimpered. "It was my fault. It's my fault she died. I said I could get the basket by myself. I left her alone when we both should've went back. It's my fault."

Eve stopped. She thought to herself for a moment and then, she placed her arms around him. Sporadic tremors coursing through her she squeezed him and said. "It wasn't your fault Automne, but even if it was, she's gone now. And none of this is going to bring her back." He trembled against her for a moment before she went on. "Do you think she would want this? Do you think she would want any of this?"

"What about everyone else?" Automne croaked, his soul rising above his misery. "I don't want this to happen to anyone else. I need to try and help end this."

Staring off into the stars, Eve allowed tears to seep from her eyes. Her lips shaking she spoke. "I used to think about killing myself. When I didn't have any friends and when it seemed like my parents were the only ones who liked me, I would think about killing myself all the time. I don't anymore, because I don't think I wanted to die. I wanted to be happy, and as bad as it would get I didn't want to die feeling miserable."

Eve placed her chin on Automne's shoulder as she stared off into the cosmos. "If you died today, would you be happy with everything that's happened? With everything you've done?"

The two stood slumped against each other.

Both reflecting on everything that brought them there.

Eve's white eyes seeped cold tears that stained her bright pink cheeks. Her throat was sore, but that didn't matter because she was out of things to say. Pressed against Automne all she could do was hope that her heart reached his.

Automne's warmth began to intoxicate Eve when her mind flared to life._ 'On your right!'_ Eve quickly removed her arms from around Automne and shoved him away.

A moment later a rifle round slammed into her abdomen and tossed her to her back. Disoriented she slowly began to slide down the rounded metal roof and into the alley. Her head slammed against the cold black pavement with a thunk, turning her vision to a kaleidoscope of faint colors and images.

Writhing she managed to get to her knees, and by some miracle her feet. The world was still a blurred mess. For what felt like a moments she teetered about in the shadow of what appeared to be a burning warehouse before trying to escape.

Shuffling down the alleyway she tried to make sense of her mostly dark surroundings, but all too suddenly her escape attempt was cut short. Appearing from nowhere Automne stood in front of her. With his scarf pulled up over his mouth and his goggles over his eyes, he slowly approached her with his pistol in hand.

"Automne," Eve mumbled, misery overtaking her heart.

Pain surged through the back of Eve's head.

Falling forward to her knees Eve glanced back and saw Sienaerde looming over her. The pain overwhelming her Eve began to cry. Sniffling she turned back to Automne just in time to glimpse his depressed form one more time before her eyes failed her.

Drooping shut, she fell unconscious.

* * *

**To be continued**


End file.
